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THE    LIFE 


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W  A  S  H  I  IT  G  T  O  l:^ 


BY 

WASHINGTON  lEVING 

11 


Vol.  I 


,     Chicago,  New  York,  and  San  Francisco  : 
BELFORD,  CLARKE   &   COMPANY 
Publish  EBS. 


V. 


GIFT  OP 

R.fT     PI  ^^AtSa  'f 


PREFACE. 


The  following  work  was  commenced  several  years  ago,  but 
the  prosecution  of  it  has  been  repeatedly  interrupted  by  other 
occupations,  by  a  long  absence  in  Europe,  and  by  occasional 
derangement  of  health.  It  is  only  within  the  last  two  or  three 
years  that  I  have  been  able  to  apply  myself  to  it  steadily.  This 
is  stated  to  account  for  the  delay  in  its  publication. 

The  present  volume  treats  of  the  earlier  part  of  Washington's 
life  previous  to  the  war  of  the  Eevolution,  giving  his  expedi- 
tions into  the  wilderness,  his  campaigns  on  the  frontier  in  the 
old  French  war ;  and  the  other  "  experiences,"  by  which  his 
character  was  formed,  and  he  was  gradually  trained  up  and 
prepared  for  his  great  destiny. 

Though  a  biography,  and  of  course  admitting  of  familiar 
anecdote,  excursive  digression,  and  a  flexible  texture  of  narra- 
tive, yet,  for  the  most  part,  it  is  essentially  historic.  Wash- 
ington, in  fact,  had  very  little  private  life,  but  was  eminently 
a  public  character.  All  his  actions  and  concerns  almost  from 
boyhood  were  connected  with  the.  history  of  his  country.  In 
writing  his  biography,  therefore,  I  am  obliged  to  take  glances 
over  collateral  history,  as  seen  from  his  point  of  view  and  in- 
fluencing his  plans,  and  to  narrate  distant  transactions  appar- 
ently disconnected  with  his  concerns,  but  eventually  bearing 
upon  the  great  drama  in  which  he  was  the  principal  actor. 

I  have  endeavored  to  execute  my  task  with  candor  and 
fidelity  ;  stating  facts  on  what  appeared  to  be  good  authority, 
and  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  all  false  coloring  and  exag- 
geration. My  work  is  founded  on  the  correspondence  of  Wash- 
ington, which,  in  fact,  affords  the  amplest  and  surest  ground- 
work for  his  biography.  This  I  have  consulted  as  it  exists  in 
manuscript  in  the  archives  of  the  Department  of  State,  to  which 
I  have  had  full  and  frequent  access.  I  have  also  made  frequent 
use  of  "  Washington's  Writings,"  as  published  by  Mr.  Sparks ; 
a  careful  collection  of  many  of  them  with  the  originals  having 
convinced  me  of  the  general  correctness  of  the  collection,  and 


iy  PREFACE, 

of  the  safety  with  which  it  ma;f  be  relied  upon  for  historical 
purposes  ;  and  I  am  happy  to  bear  this  testimony  to  the  essential 
accuracy  of  one  whom  I  consider  among  the  greatest  benefactors 
to  our  national  literature ;  and  to  whose  writings  and  researches 
I  acknowledge  myself  largely  indebted  throughout  my  work. 

W.I. 

SUNNYSIDB,  1855. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENEALOGY  OF  THE  WASHINGTON  FAMILY. 

The  Washington  family  is  of  an  ancient  English  stock,  the 
genealogy  of  which  has  been  traced  up  to  the  century  immedi- 
ately succeeding  the  Conquest.  At  that  time  it  was  in  posses- 
sion of  landed  estates  and  manorial  privileges  in  the  county  of 
Durham,  such  as  were  enjoyed  only  by  those,  or  their  descend- 
ants, who  had  come  over  from  Normandy  with  the  Conqueror, 
or  fought  under  his  standard.  When  William  the  Conqueror 
laid  waste  the  whole  country  north  of  the  Humber,  in  punish- 
ment of  the  insurrection  of  the  Northumbrians,  he  apportioned 
the  estates  among  his  followers,  and  advanced  Normans  and 
other  foreigners  to  the  principal  ecclesiastical  dignities.  One 
of  the  most  wealthy  and  important  sees  was  that  of  Durham. 
Hither  had  been  transported  the  bones  of  St.  Cuthbert  from 
their  original  shrine  at  Lindisfarne,  when  it  was  ravaged  by 
the  Danes.  That  saint,  says  Camden,  was  esteemed  by  princes 
and  gentry  a  titular  saint  against  the  Scots."*  His  shrine, 
therefore,  had  been  held  in  peculiar  reverence  by  the  Saxons, 
and  the  see  of  Durham  endowed  with  extraordinary  privileges. 

William  continued  and  increased  those  privileges.  He  needed 
a  powerful  adherent  on  this  frontier  to  keep  the  restless  North- 
umbrians in  order,  and  check  Scottish  invasion  ;  and  no  doubt 
considered  an  enlightened  ecclesiastic,  appointed  by  the  crown, 
a  safer  depositary  of  such  power  than  an  hereditary  noble. 

Having  placed  a  noble  and  learned  native  of  Loraine  in  the 
diocese,  therefore,  he  erected  it  into  a  palatinate,  over  which 
the  bishop,  as  Count  Palatine,  had  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual 
*  Camden,  Brit.  iv.  349. 


2  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

jurisdiction.  He  built  a  strong  castle  for  his  protection,  and 
to  serve  as  a  barrier  against  the  Northern  foe.  He  made  him 
lord  high  admiral  of  the  sea  and  waters  adjoining  his  palatinate, 
lord^^wafden  of 'the  inarches,  and  conservator  of  the  league 
betw^ei?  En^an^^ap^Srcotland.  Thenceforth,  we  are  told,  the 
pi^elates  of  Durham  owned  no  earthly  superior  within  their 
'dibcese,  b'^t  continued  for  \3enturies  to  exercise  every  right 
attaclied  io  a^n  independent  Sovereign.* 

The  bishop,  as  Count  Palatine,  lived  in  almost  royal  state 
and  splendor.  He  had  his  lay  chancellor,  chamberlains,  secre- 
taries, steward,  treasurer,  master  of  the  horse,  and  a  host  of 
minor  officers.  Still  he  was  under  feudal  obligations.  All 
landed  property  in  those  warlike  times  implied  military  service. 
Bishops  and  abbots,  equally  with  great  barons  who  held  estates 
immediately  of  the  crown,  were  obliged,  when  required,  to 
furnish  the  king  with  armed  men  in  proportion  to  their  do- 
mains ;  but  they  had  their  feudatories  under  them,  to  aid  them 
in  this  service. 

The  princely  prelate  of  Durham  had  his  barons  and  knights, 
who  held  estates  of  him  on  feudal  tenure,  and  were  bound  to 
serve  him  in  peace  and  war.  They  sat  occasionally  in  his 
councils  gave  martial  splendor  to  his  court,  and  were  obliged 
to  have  horse  and  weapon  ready  for  service,  for  they  lived  in  a 
belligerent  neighborhood,  disturbed  occasionally  by  civil  war, 
and  often  by  Scottish  foray.  When  the  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert, 
the  royal  standard  of  the  province,  was  displayed,  no  armed 
feudatory  of  the  bishop  could  refuse  to  take  the  field.f 

Some  of  these  prelates,  in  token  of  the  warlike  duties  of  their 
diocese,  engraved  on  their  seals  a  knight  on  horseback,  armed 
at  all  points,  brandishing  in  one  hand  a  sword,  and  holding 
forth  in  the  other  the  arms  of  the  see.$ 

Among  the  knights  who  held  estates  in  the  palatinate  on 
these  warlike  conditions  was  William  de  Hertburn,  the 
progenitor  of  the  Washingtons.  His  Norman  name  of  William 
would  seem  to  point  out  his  national  descent ;  and  the  family 
long  continued  to  have  Norman  names  of  baptism.  The  sur- 
name of  De  Hertburn  was  taken  from  a  village  on  the  palati- 
nate, which  he  held  of  the  bishop  in  knight's  fee ;  probably  the 
same  now  called  Hartburn,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tees.  It  had 
become  a  custom  among  the  Norman  families  of  rank,  about  the 
time  of  the  Conquest,  to  take  surnames  from  their  castles  or  es- 

*  Annals  of  Roger  deHoTodoen.    Hutchinson's  I>urAawi,  voL  ii    Col- 
lectanea Curiosa,  vol.  ii.  83. 
t  Kobert  de  Graystanes,  Aug.  Sac.  p.  746, 
}  Camjlen,  Brit.  iv.  349. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  3 

ates  ;  it  was  not  until  some  time  afterwards  that  surnamest 
became  generally  assumed  by  the  people.^ 

How  or  when  the  De  Hertburns  first  acquired  possession 
of  their  village  is  not  known.  They  may  have  been  companions 
in  arms  with  Robert  de  Brus  (or  Bruce),  a  noble  knight  of 
JSTormandy,  rewarded  by  William  the  Conqueror  with  great 
possessions  in  the  North,  and  among  others,  with  the  lordships 
of  Hert  a];id  Hertness  in  the  county  of  Durham. 

The  first  actual  mention  we  find  of  the  family  is  in  the 
^^  Bolden  Book,"  a  record  of  all  the  lands  appertaining  to  the 
diocese  in  1183.  In  this  it  is  stated  that  William  de  Hertburn 
had  exchanged  his  village  of  Hertburn  for  the  manor  and 
village  of  Wessyngton,  likewise  in  the  diocese ;  paying  the 
bishop  a  quit-rent  of  four  pounds,  and  engaging  to  attend  him 
with  two  greyhounds  in  grand  hunts,  and  to  furnish  a  man-at- 
arms  whenever  military  aid  should  be  required  of  the  palatinate.^ 

The  family  changed  its  surname  with  its  estate,  and  thence- 
forward assumed  that  of  De  Wessyngton.  t  The  condition 
of  military  service  attached  to  its  manor  will  be  found  to  have 
been  often  exacted,  nor  was  the  service  in  the  grand  hunt  an 
idle  form.  Hunting  came  next  to  war  in  those  days,  as  the 
occupation  of  the  nobility  and  gentry.  The  clergy  engaged  in 
it  equally  with  the  laity.  The  hunting  establishment  of  the 
Bishop  of  Durham  was  on  a  princely  scale.     He  had  his   for- 

*  Lower,  On  Surnames ,  vol.  i.  p.  43.  Fuller  says  that  the  custom  of 
surnames  was  brought  from  France  in  Edward  the  Confessor's  time, 
about  fifty  years  before  the  Conquest;  but  did  not  become  universally 
settled  until  some  hundred  years  afterwards.  At  first  they  did  not  de- 
scend hereditarily  on  the  family.  Fuller,  Church  History.  Boll  Battle 
Abbey. 

t  The  Bolden  Book.  As  this  ancient  document  gives  the  first  trace 
of  the  Washington  family,  it  merits  especial  mention.  In  1183  a  survey 
was  made,  by  order  of  Bishop  de  Pusaz,  of  all  the  lands  of  the  see  held 
in  demesne,  or  by  tenants  in  villanage.  The  record  was  entered  in  a 
book  called  the  Bolden  Buke;  the  parish  of  Bolden  occurring  first  in  al- 
phabetical arrangement.  The  document  commences  in  the  following 
manner;  "  Incipit  liber  qui  vocatur  '  Bolden  Book. '  Anno  Dominice 
Incarnationis,  1183,"  etc. 

The  following  is  the  memorandum  in  question : — 

*'  Willus  de  Herteburn  habet  Wessyngton  (excepta  ecclesia  et  terra 
ecclesie  partinen)  ad  examb.  pro  villa  de  Herteburn  quam  pro  hac  qui- 
etam  clamavit:  Et  reddit  4  L.  Et  vadit  in  magna  caza  cum  2  Leporar. 
Et  quando  commune  auxilium  venerit  debet  dare  1  Militem  ad  plus  de 
auxilio,"  etc.    Collectanea  Curiosa,  vol.  ii.  p.  89. 

The  Bolden  Buke  is  a  small  folio,  deposited  in  the  office  of  the 
bishop's  auditor  of  Durham. 

t  The  name  is  probably  of  Saxon  origin.  It  existed  in  England  prior 
to  the  Conquest.  The  village  of  Wassengtone  is  mentioned  in  a  Saxon 
charter  as  granted  by  King  Edgar  in  973  to  Thorney  abbey.  Collectanea 
Topographica,  iv.  55, 


4  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ests,  chases,  and  parks,  with  their  train  of  foresters,  rangers, 
and  park-keepers.  A  grand  hunt  was  a  splendid  pageant,  in 
which  all  his  barons  and  knights  attended  him,  with  horse  and 
hound.  The  stipulations  with  the  Seignior  of  Wessyngton 
show  how  strictly  the  rights  of  the  chase  were  defined.  All  the 
game  taken  by  him  in  going  to  the  forest  belonged  to  the 
bishop ;  all  taken  on  returning  belonged  to  himself.^ 

Hugh  de  Pusaz  (or  De  Pudsay)  during  whose  episcopate  we 
meet  with  this  first  trace  of  the  De  Wessyngtons,  was  a  nephew 
of  King  Stephen,  and  a  prelate  of  great  pretensions  ;  fond  of 
appearing  with  a  train  of  ecclesiastics  and  an  armed  retinue. 
When  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion  put  everything  at  pawn  and  sale 
to  raise  funds  for  a  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land,  the  bishop  re- 
solved to  accompany  him.  More  wealthy  than  his  sovereign, 
he  made  magnificent  preparations.  Besides  ships  to  convey 
his  troops  and  retinue,  he  had  a  sumptuous  galley  for  himself, 
fitted  up  with  a  throne  or  episcopal  chair  of  silver,  and  all  the 
household,  and  even  culinary  utensils,  were  of  the  same  costly 
material.  In  a  word,  had  not  the  prelate  been  induced  to  stay 
at  home,  and  aid  the  king  with  his  treasures,  by  being  made 
one  of  the  regents  of  the  kingdom,  and  earl  of  Northumberland 
for  life,  the  De  Wessyngtons  might  have  followed  the  banner 
of  St.  Cuthbert  to  the  holy  wars. 

Nearly  seventy  years  afterwards  we  find  the  family  still  re- 
taining its  manorial  estate  in  the  palatinate.  The  names  of 
Bondo  de  Wessyngton  and  William  his  son  appear  on  charters 
of  land,  granted  in  1257  to  religious  houses.  Soon  after  oc- 
curred the  wars  of  the  barons,  in  which  the  throne  of  Henry 
III.  was  shaken  by  the  De  Mountforts.  The  chivalry  of  the 
palatinate  rallied  under  the  royal  standard.  On  the  list  of 
loyal  knights  who  fought  for  their  sovereign  in  the  disastrous 
battle  of  Lewes  (1264),  in  which  the  king  was  taken  prisoner, 
we  find  the  name  of  William  Weshington,  of  Weshington.f 

During  the  splendid  pontificate  of  Anthony  Beke  (or  Beak), 
the  knights  of  the  palatinate  had  continually  to  be  in  the  sad- 
dle, or  buckled  in  armor.  The  prelate  was  so  impatient  of 
rest  that  he  never  took  more  than  one  sleep,  saying  it  was  un- 
becoming man  to  turn  from  one  side  to  another  in  bed.  He 
was  perpetually,  when  within  his  diocese,  either  riding  from 
one  manor  to  another,  or  hunting  and  hawking.  Twice  he 
assisted  Edward  I.  with  all  his  force  in  invading  Scotland.     In 

*  Hutcliinson's  Durham,  vol.  ii.   p.  489. 

*  This  list  of  knights  was  inserted  in  the  Bolden  Book  as  an  additional 
entry.  It  is  cited  at  full  length  by  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Durham,  vol.  i. 
p.  220, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  5 

the  progress  northward  with  the  king,  the  bishop  led  the  van, 
marching  a  day  in  advance  of  the  main  body,  with  a  mercenary 
force,  paid  by  himself,  of  one  thousand  foot  and  five  hundred  horse. 
Besides  these  he  had  his  feudatories  of  the  palatinate ;  six 
bannerets  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  knights,  not  one  of 
whom,  says  an  old  poem,  but  surpassed  Arthur  himself,  though 
endowed  with  the  charmed  gifts  of  Merlin.*  We  presume  the 
De  Wessyngtons  were  among  those  preux  chevaliers,  as  the 
banner  of  St.  Cuthbert  had  been  taken  from  its  shrine  on  the 
occasion,  and  of  course  all  the  armed  force  of  the  diocese  was 
bound  to  follow.  It  was  borne  in  front  of  the  army  by  a  monk 
of  Durham.  There  were  many  rich  caparisons,  says  the  old 
poem,  many  beautiful  pennons,  fluttering  from  lances,  and 
much  neighing  of  steeds.  The  hills  and  valleys  were  covered 
with  sumpter  horses  and  wagons  laden  with  tents  and  provis- 
ions. The  Bishop  of  Durham  in  his  warlike  state  appeared, 
we  are  told,  more  like  a  powerful  prince,  than  a  priest  or 
prelate.! 

At  the  surrender  of  the  crown  of  Scotland  by  John  Baliol, 
which  ended  this  invasion,  the  bishop  negotiated  on  the  part 
of  England.  As  a  trophy  of  the  event,  the  chair  of  Scone, 
used  on  the  inauguration  of  the  Scottish  monarchs,  and  con- 
taining the  stone  on  which  Jacob  dreamed,  the  palladium  of 
Scotland,  was  transferred  to  England  and  deposited  in  West- 
minster Abbey.  $ 

*  "Onques  Artous  pour  touz  ces  charmes, 
Si  beau  prisent  ne  ot  de  Merlin." 

Siege  of  Karlavarock  ;  an  old  Poem  in  Norman 
French. 
t  Robert  de  Graystanes,  Ang.  Sac.  p.  *746,  cited  by  Hutchinson,  vol.  i. 
p.  239. 

t  An  extract  from  an  inedited  poem,  cited  by  Nicolas  in  his  transla- 
tion of  the  Siege  of  Carlavarock,  gives  a  striking  picture  of  the  palati- 
nate in  those  days  of  its  pride  and  splendor  : — 

''  There  valor  bowed  before  the  rood  and  book. 

And  kneeling  knighthood  served  a  prelate  lord, 
Yet  little  deigned  he  on  such  train  to  look. 
Or  glance  of  ruth  or  pity  to  afford. 

"  There  time  has  heard  the  peal  rung  out  at  night, 
Has  seen  from  every  tower  the  cressets  stream, 
When  the  red  bale-fire,  on  yon  western  height. 
Had  roused  the  warder  from  his  fitful  dream. 

"  Has  seen  old  Durham's  lion  banner  float 

O'er  the  proud  bulwark,  that,  with  giant  pride 
And  feet  deep  plunged  amidst  the  circling  moat, 
The  efforts  of  the  roving  Scot  defied." 


6  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  we  find  the  De  Wessyngtons 
still  mingling  in  chivalrous  scenes.  The  name  of  Sir  Stephen 
de  Wessyngton  appears  on  the  list  of  knights  (nobles  cheva- 
liers) who  were  to  tilt  at  a  tournament  at  Dunstable  in  1334. 
He  bore  for  his  device  a  golden  rose  on  an  azure  field.* 

He  was  soon  called  to  exercise  his  arms  on  a  sterner  field. 
In  1346,  Edward  and  his  son,  the  Black  Prince,  being  absent 
with  the  armies  in  France,  King  David  of  Scotland  invaded 
Northumberland  with  a  powerful  army.  Queen  Philippa,  who 
had  remained  in  England  as  regent,  immediately  took  the  field, 
calling  the  northern  prelates  and  nobles  to  join  her  standard. 
They  all  hastened  to  obey.  Among  the  prelates  was  Hatfield, 
the  Bishop  of  Durham.  The  sacred  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert 
was  again  displayed,  and  the  chivalry  of  the  palatinate  assisted 
at  the  famous  battle  of  Nevil's  Cross,  near  Durham,  in  which 
the  Scottish  army  was  defeated  and  King  David  taken  prisoner. 

Queen  Philippa  hastened  with  a  victorious  train  to  cross  the 
sea  at  Dover,  and  join  King  Edward  in  his  camp  before  Calais. 
The  prelate  of  Durham  accompanied  her.  His  military  train 
consisted  of  three  bannerets,  forty-eight  knights,  one  hundred 
and  sixty-four  esquires,  and  eighty  archers,  on  horseback.f 
They  all  arrived  to  witness  the  surrender  of  Calais  (1346),  on 
which  occasion  Queen  Philippa  distinguished  herself  by  her 
noble  interference  in  saving  the  lives  of  its  patriot  citizens. 

Such  were  the  warlike  and  stately  scenes  in  which  the  De 
Wessyngtons  were  called  to  mingle  by  their  feudal  duties  as 
knights  of  the  palatinate.  A  few  years  after  the  last  event 
(1350),  William,  at  that  time  lord  of  the  manor  of  Wessyng- 
ton, had  licence  to  settle  it  and  the  village  upon  himself,  his 
wife,  and  ^'  his  own  right  heirs."  He  died  in  1367,  and  his 
son  and  heir,  William,  succeeded  to  the  estate.  The  latter  is 
mentioned  under  the  name  of  Sir  William  de  Weschington,  as 
one  of  the  knights  who  sat  in  the  privy  council  of  the  county 
during  the  episcopate  of  John  Eordham.$  During  this  time 
the  whole  force  of  the  palatinate  was  roused  to  pursue  a  foray 
of  Scots,  under  Sir  William  Douglas,  who,  having  ravaged 
the  country,  were  returning  laden  with  spoil.  It  was  a  fruit 
of  the  feud  between  the  Douglases  and  the  Percys.  The 
marauders  were  overtaken  by  Hotspur  Percy,  and  then  took 
place  the  battle  of  Otterbourne,  in  which  Percy  was  taken 
prisoner  and  Douglas  slain.  § 

*  Collect.  Topog.  et  Genealog.  torn.  iv.  p.  395. 
t  Collier's  Eccles.  Hist,  book  vi.  cent.  xiv. 
i   Hutchinson,  vol.  ii. 

§  ''  Theare  the  Dowglas  lost  his  life,    . 
And  the  Percye  was  led  away." 
Fordun,  quoted  by  Surtee's  Hist.  Durham,  vol,  1. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  7 

For  upwards  of  two  hundred  years  the  De  Wessyngtons  had 
now  sat  in  the  councils  of  the  palatinate  ;  had  mingled  with 
horse  and  hound  in  the  stately  hunts  of  its  prelates,  and  fol- 
lowed the  hanner  of  St.  Cuthhert  to  the  field  ;  but  Sir  William, 
just  mentioned,  was  the  last  of  the  family  that  rendered  this 
feudal  service.  He  was  the  last  male  of  the  line  to  which  the 
inheritance  of  the  manor,  by  the  licence  granted  to  his  father, 
was  confined.  It  passed  away  from  the  De  Wessyngtons, 
after  his  death,  by  the  marriage  of  his  only  daughter  and  heir, 
Dionisia,  with  Sir  William  Temple  of  Studley.  By  the  year 
1400  it  had  become  the  property  of  the  Blaykestons."*^ 

But  though  the  name  of  De  Wessyngton  no  longer  figured  on 
the  chivalrous  roll  of  the  palatinate,  it  continued  for  a  time  to 
flourish  in  the  cloisters.  In  the,  year  1416,  John  de  Wessyng- 
ton was  elected  prior  of  the  Benedictine  convent  attached  to 
the  cathedral.  The  monks  of  this  convent  had  been  licensed 
by  Pope  Gregory  VII.  to  perform  the  solemn  duties  of  the 
cathedral  in  place  of  secular  clergy,  and  William  the  Con- 
queror had  ordained  that  the  priors  of  Durham  should  enjoy 
all  the  liberties,  dignities,  and  honors  of  abbots  ;  should  hold 
their  lands  and  churches  in  their  own  hands  and  free  disposi- 
tion and  have  the  abbot's  seat  on  the  left  side  of  the  choir — 
thus  taking  rank  of  every  one  but  the  bishop. f 

In  the  course  of  three  centuries  and  upwards,  which  had 
since  elapsed,  these  honors  and  privileges  had  been  subject  to 
repeated  dispute  and  encroachment,  and  the  prior  had  nearly 
been  elbowed  out  of  the  abbot's  chair  by  the  archdeacon.  John 
de  Wessyngton  was  not  a  man  to  submit  tamely  to  such  in- 
fringements of  his  rights.  He  forthwith  set  himself  up  as  the 
champion  of  his  priory,  and  in  a  learned  tract,  ^'  De  Juribus  et 
Possessionibus  Ecclesiae  Dunelm,"  established  the  validity  of 
the  long  controverted  claims,  and  fixed  himself  firmly  in  the 
abbot's  chair.  His  success  in  this  controversy  gained  him 
much  renown  among  his  brethren  of  the  cowl,  and  in  1426  he 
presided  at  the  general  chapter  of  the  order  of  St.  Benedict, 
held  at  Northampton. 

The  stout  prior  of  Durham  had  other  disputes  with  the 
bishop  and  the  secular  clergy  touching  his  ecclesiastical  func- 
tions, in  which  he  was  equally  victorious,  and  several  tracts 
remain  in  manuscript  in  the  dean  and  chapter's  library — 
weapons  hung  up  in  the  church  armory  as  memorials  of  his 
polemical  battles. 

Finally,  after  fighting  divers  good  fights  for  the  honor  of  hia 

*  Hutchinson's  Durham,  vol.  ii.  p.  489. 

t  Dugdale,  Monasticon  Anglicanum,  tom.  i.  p.  231.  London,  ed.  1846« 


8  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

priory,  and  filling  the  abbott's  chair  for  thirty  years,  he  died, 
to  use  an  ancient  phrase,  "  in  all  the  odor  of  sanctity,"  in  1446, 
and  was  buried  like  a  soldier  on  his  battle-field,  at  the  door  of 
the  north  aisle  of  his  church,  near  to  the  altar  of  St.  Benedict. 
On  his  tombstone  was  an  inscription  in  brasS;  now  unfortunately 
obliterated,  which  may  have  set  forth  the  valiant  deeds  of  this 
Washington  of  the  cloisters.^ 

By  this  time  the  primitive  stock  of  the  De  Wessyngtons  had 
separated  into  divers  branches,  holding  estates  in  various  parts 
of  England ;  some  distinguishing  themselves  in  the  learned 
professions,  others  receiving  knighthood  for  public  services. 
Their  names  are  to  be  found  honorably  recorded  in  county 
histories,  or  engraved  on  monuments  in  time-worn  churches 
and  cathedrals,  those  garnering  places  of  English  worthies.  By 
degrees  the  seignorial  sign  of  de  disappeared  from  before  the 
family  surname,  which  also  varied  from  Wessyngton  to  Was- 
sington,  Wasshington,  and  finally,  to  Washington.!  A  parish 
in  the  county  of  Durham  bears  the  name  as  last  written,  and 
in  this  probably  the  ancient  manor  of  Wessyngton  was  situated. 
There  is  another  parish  of  the  name  in  the  county  of  Sussex. 

The  branch  of  the  family  to  which  our  Washington  imme- 
diately belongs  sprang  from  Laurence  Washington,  Esquire,  of 
Gray's  Inn,  son  of  John  Washington,  of  Warton,  in  Lancashire. 
This  Laurence  Washington  was  for  some  time  mayor  of  North- 
ampton, and  on  the  dissolution  of  the  priories  by  Henry  VIII. 
he  received,  in  1538,  a  grant  of  the  manor  of  Sulgrave,  in  North- 
amptonshire, with  other  lands  in  the  vicinity,  all  confiscated 
property  formerly  belonging  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Andrew's. 

Sulgrave  remained  in  the  family  until  1620,  and  was  com- 
monly called  "Washington's  manor."  $ 

*  Hutchinson's  Durham,  vol.  11.  passim.  • 

t  *'  The  de  came  to  be  omitted,"  says  an  old  treatise,  "when  English- 
men and  English  manners  began  to  prevail  upon  the  recovery  of  lost 
credit." — Bestitution  of  Decayed  Intelligence  in  Antiquities.  Lend. 
1634. 

About  the  time  of  Henry  YI. ,  says  another  treatise,  the  de  or  d'  was 
generally  dropped  from  surnames,  when  the  title  of  armiger,  esquier, 
amongst  the  heads  of  families,  and  generosus,  or  gentylman,  among 
younger  sons  was  substituted.     Lower,  on  Surnames,  vol.  i. 

J  The  manor  of  Garsdon  in  Wiltshire  has  been  mentioned  as  the  liome- 
stead  of  the  ancestors  of  our  Washington.  This  was  the  residence  of 
Sir  Laurence  Washington,  second  son  of  the  above-mentioned  grantee 
of  Sulgrave.  Elizabeth,  granddaughter  of  this  Sir  Laurence,  married 
Kobert  Shirley,  Earl  Ferrars  and  Viscount  of  Tamworth.  Washington 
became  a  baptismal  name  among  the  Shirleys ;  several  of  the  Earls 
Ferrers  have  borne  it. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  visited  Sulgrave  a  few  years  since.    It  was 


LTFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  9 

One  of  the  direct  descendants  of  the  grantee  of  Sulgrave  was 
Sir  William  Washington,  of  Packington,  in  the  county  of  Kent. 
He  married  a  sister  of  George  Villiers,  Duke  of  Buckingham, 
the  unfortunate  favorite  of  Charles  I.  This  may  have  attached 
the  Sulgrave  Washingtons  to  the  Stuart  dynasty,  to  which  they 
adhered  loyally  and  generously  throughout  all  its  vicissitudes. 
One  of  the  family,  Lieutenant-colonel  James  Washington,  took 
up  arms  in  the  cause  of  King  Charles,  and  lost  his  life  at  the 
siege  of  Pontefract  castle.  Another  of  the  Sulgrave  line,  Sir 
Henry  Washington,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  William,  before  men- 
tioned, exhibited  in  the  civil  wars  the  old  chivalrous  spirit  of 
the  knights  of  the  palatinate.  He  served  under  Prince  Rupert 
at  the  storming  of  Bristol,  in  1643,  and  when  the  assailants 
were  beaten  off  at  every  point,  he  broke  in  with  a  handful  of 
infantry  at  a  weak  part  of  the  wall,  made  room  for  the  horse  to 
follow,  and  opened  a  path  to  victory.* 

He  distinguished  himself  still  more  in  1646,  when  elevated 
to  the  command  of  Worcester,  the  governor  having  been  cap- 
tured by  the  enemy.  It  was  a  time  of  confusion  and  dismay. 
The  king  had  fled  from  Oxford  in  disguise  and  gone  to  the 
parliamentary  camp  at  Newark.  The  royal  cause  was  desper- 
ate. In  this  crisis  Sir  Henry  received  a  letter  from  Fairfax, 
who,  with  his  victorious  army  was  at  Haddington,  demanding 
the  surrender  of  Worcester.  The  following  was  Colonel  Wash- 
ington's reply : — 

"  Sir, — It  is  acknowledged  by  your  books  and  by  report  of 
your  own  quarter,  that  the  king  is  in  some  of  your  armies. 
That  granted,  it  may  be  easy  for  you  to  procure  his  Majesty's 
commands  for  the  disposal  of  this  garrison.  Till  then  I  shall 
make  good  the  trust  reposed  in  me.  As  for  conditions,  if  I  shall 
be  necessitated,  I  shall  make  the  best  I  can.  The  worst  I  know 
and  fear  not ;  if  I  had,  the  profession  of  a  soldier  had  not  been 

in  a  quiet  rural  neighborhood,  where  the  farm-houses  were  quaint  and 
antiquated.  A  part  only  of  the  manor  house  remained,  and  was  in- 
habited by  a  farmer.  The  Washington  crest,  in  colored  glass,  was  to 
be  seen  in  a  window  of  what  was  now  the  buttery.  A  window  on  which 
the  whole  family  arms  were  emblazoned  liad  been  removed  to  the  resi- 
dence of  the  actual  proprietor  of  the  manor.  Another  relic  of  the  an- 
cient manor  of  the  Washingtons  was  a  rookery  in  a  venerable  grove  hard 
by.  Tlie  rooks,-  those  stanch  adherents  to  old  family  abodes,  still 
hovered  and  cawed  about  their  hereditary  nests.  In  the  pavement  of 
the  parish  church  we  were  shown  a  stone  slab  bearing  effigies  on  plates 
of  brass  of  Laurence  Washington,  gent. ,  and  Anne  his  wife,  and  their 
four  sons  and  eleven  daughters.  The  inscription  in  black  letters  was 
dated  1564. 
*  Clarendon,  book  vii. 


10  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

begun,  nor  so    long  continued  by  your  Excellency's  humble 
servant, 

"  Henry  Washington."* 

In  a  few  days  Colonel  Wballey  invested  the  city  with  five 
thousand  troops.  Sir  Henry  despatched  messenger  after  mes- 
senger in  quest  of  the  king  to  know  his  pleasure.  None  of 
them  returned.  A  female  emissary  was  equally  unavailing. 
Week  after  week  elapsed,  until  nearly  three  months  had  ex- 
pired. Provisions  began  to  fail.  The  city  was  in  confusion. 
The  troops  grew  insubordinate.  Yet  Sir  Henry  persisted  in 
the  defense.  General  Fairfax,  with  1,500  horse,  and  foot,  was 
daily  expected.  There  was  not  powder  enough  for  an  hour's 
contest  should  the  city  be  stormed  Still  Sir  Henry  "  awaited 
His  Majesty's  commands." 

At  length  news  arrived  that  the  king  had  issued  an  order 
for  the  surrender  of  all  towns,  castles,  and  forts.  A  printed 
copy  of  the  order  was  shown  to  Sir  Henry,  and  on  the  faith  of 
that  document  he  capitulated  (19th  July,  1646)  on  honorable 
terms,  won  by  his  fortitude  and  perseverance.  Those  who  be- 
lieve in  hereditary  virtues  may  see  foreshadowed  in  the  con- 
duct of  this  Washington  of  Worcester,  the  magnanimous  con- 
stancy of  purpose,  the  disposition  to  "hope  against  hope,"  which 
bore  our  Washington  triumphantly  through  the  darkest  days  of 
our  Revolution. 

We  have  little  note  of  the  Sulgrave  branch  of  the  family 
after  the  death  of  Charles  I.  and  the  exile  of  his  successor. 
England,  during  the  Protectorate,  became  an  uncomfortable 
residence  to  such  as  had  signalized  themselves  as  adherents  to 
the  house  of  Stuart.  In  1655,  an  attempt  at  a  general  insur- 
rection drew  on  them  the  vengeance  of  Cromwell.  Many  of 
their  party  who  had  no  share  in  the  conspiracy,  yet  sought 
refuge  in  other  lands,  where  they  might  live  free  from  moles- 
tation. This  may  have  been  the  case  with  the  two  brothers, 
John  and  Andrew  Washington,  great-grandsons  of  the  grantee 
of  Sulgrave,  and  uncles  of  Sir  Henry,  the  gallant  defender  of 
Worcester.  John  had  for  some  time  resided  at  South  Cave,  in 
the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire ;  *  but  now  emigrated  with  his 
brother  to  Virginia,  which  colony,  from  its  allegiance  to  the 
exiled  monarch  and  the  Anglican  Church,  had  become  a 
favorite   resort   of  the   Cavaliers.       The  brothers    arrived   in 

*  Greene's  Antiquities  of  Worcester,  p.  273.  

t  South  Cave  is  near  the  Humber.  "  In  the  vicinity  is  Cave  Castle, 
an  embattled  edifice.  It  has  a  noble  collection  of  paintings,  including 
a  portrait  of  General  Washington,  whose  ancestors  possessed  a  portion 
of  the  estate." — Lewes,  Topog.  Diet,  vol.  i.  p.  530, 


LIFE  OP  WA SHtNGTON.  11 

Virginia  in  1657,  and  purchased  lands  in  Westmoreland 
County,  on  the  Northern  Neck,  between  the  Potomac  and  Eap- 
pahannock  rivers.  John  married  a  Miss  Anne  Pope,  of  the 
same  county,  and  took  up  his  residence  on  Bridges  Creek,  near 
where  it  falls  into  the  Potomac.  He  became  an  extensive 
planter,  and,  in  process  of  time,  a  magistrate  and  member  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses.  Having  a  spark  of  the  old  military 
fire  of  the  family,  we  find  him,  as  Colonel  Washington,  leading 
the  Virginia  forces,  in  cooperation  with  those  of  Maryland, 
against  a  band  of  Seneca  Indians,  who  were  rataging  the 
settlements  along  the  Potomac.  In  honor  of  his  public  services 
and  private  virtues  the  parish  in  which  he  resided  was  called 
after  him,  and  still  bears  the  name  of  Washington.  He  lies 
buried  in  a  vault  on  Bridges  Creek,  which,  for  generations,  was 
the  family  place  of  sepulture. 

The  estate  continued  in  the  family.  His  grandson  Augus- 
tine, the  father  of  our  Washington,  was  born  there  in  1694. 
He  was  twice  married;  first  (April  20th,  1715),  to  Jane, 
daughter  of  Caleb  Butler,  Esq.,  of  Westmoreland  County,  by 
whom  he  had  four  children,  of  whom  only  two,  Lawrence  and 
Augustine,,  survived  the  years  of  childhood ;  their  mother  died 
November  24th,  1728,  and  was  buried  in  the  family  vault. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1730,  he  married  in  second  nuptials, 
Mary,  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Ball,  a  young  and  beautiful  girl, 
said  to  be  the  belle  of  the  Northern  Neck.  By  her  he  had  four 
sons,  George,  Samuel,  John  Augustine,  and  Charles  ;  and  two 
daughters,  Elizabeth,  or  Betty,  as  she  was  commonly  called, 
and  Mildred,  who  died  in  infancy. 

George,  the  eldest,  the  subject  of  this  biography,  was  born 
on  the  22d  of  February  (11th,  0.  S.)  1732,,  in  the  homestead 
on  Bridges  Creek.  This  house  commanded  a  view  over  many 
miles  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  opposite  shore  of  Maryland.  It 
had  probably  been  purchaseti  with  the  property,  and  was  one  of 
the  primitive  farmhouses  of  Virginia.  The  roof  was  steep,  and 
sloped  down  into  low  projecting  eaves.  It  had  four  rooms  on 
the  ground  floor,  and  others  in  the  attic,  and  an  immense  chim- 
ney at  each  end.  Not  a  vestige  of  it  remains.  Two  or  three 
decayed  fig-trees,  with  shrubs  and  vines,  linger  about  the  place, 
and  here  and  there  a  flower  grown  wild  serves  "  to  mark  where 
a  garden  has  been."  Such,  at  least,  was  the  case  a  few  years 
since ;  but  these  may  have  likewise  passed  away.  A  stone  * 
marks  the  site  of  the  house,  and  an  inscription  denotes  its  be- 
ing the  birth-place  of  Washington. 

We  have  entered  with  some  minuteness  into  this  genealogi- 
*  Placed  there  by  George  W.  P.  Custis,  Esq. 


12  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

cal  detail,  tracing  the  family  step  by  step  through  the  pages  of 
historical  documents  for  ujjwards  of  six  centuries  ;  and  we  have 
been  tempted  to  do  so.  by  tlie  documentary  proofs  it  gives  of 
the  lineal  and  enduring  worth  of  the  race.  We  have  shown 
that,  for  many  generations,  and  through  a  variety  of  eventful 
scenes,  it  has  maintained  an  equality  of  fortune  and  respect- 
ability, and  whenever  brought  to  the  test  has  acquitted  itself 
with  honor  and  loyalty.  Hereditary  rank  may  be  an  illusion  ; 
but  hereditary  virtue  gives  a  patent  of  innate  nobleness  beyond 
all  the  blazonry  of  the  Heralds'  College. 


CHAPTER   11. 

THE  HOME  OP    WASHINGTON'S    BOYHOOD. HIS    EARLY    EDUCA- 
TION.  LAWRENCE  WASHINGTON  AND    HIS  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE 

WEST    INDIES. DEATH     OF      WASHINGTON'S      FATHER. THE 

WIDOWED    MOTHER    AND     HER    CHILDREN. SCHOOL      EXER- 
CISES. 

KoT  long  after  the  birth  of  George,  his  father  removed  to  an 
estate  in  Stafford  County,  opposite  Fredericksburg.  The  house 
was  similar  in  st^de  to  the  one  at  Bridges  Creek,  and  stood  on 
a  rising  ground  overlooking  a  meadow  which  bordered  the 
Rappahannock.  This  was  the  home  of  George's  boyhood ;  the 
meadow  was  his  play-ground,  and  the  scene  of  his  early  ath- 
letic sports  ;  but  this  home,  like  that  in  which  he  was  born,  has 
disappeared;  the  site  is  only  to  be  traced  by  fragments  of 
bricks,  china,  and  earthenware. 

In  those  days  the  means  of  instruction  in  Virginia  were  limited, 
and  it  was  the  custom  among  the  wealthy  planters  to  send 
their  sons  to  England  to  complete  their  education.  This  was 
done  by  Augustine  Washington  with  his  eldest  son  Lawrence, 
then  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  whom  he  no  doubt  con- 
sidered the  future  head  of  the  family,  George  was  yet  in  early 
childhood :  as  his  intellect  dawned  he  received  the  rudiments 
of  education  in  the  best  establishment  for  the  purpose  that  the 
neighborhood  afforded.  It  was  what  was  called,  in  popular  par- 
lance, an  "  old  field  school-house  ;  "  humble  enough  in  its  pre- 
tensions;  and  kept  by  one  of  his  father's  tenants  named  Hobby, 
who,  moreover,  was  sexton  of  the  parish.  The  instruction 
doled  out  by  him  must  have  been  of  the  simplest  l^ind,  read- 
ing, writing,  and  ciphering,  perhaps ;  but  George  had  the 
benefit  of  mental  and  moral  culture  at  home,  from  an  excellent 
father. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  13 

Several  traditional  anecdotes  have  been  given  to  the  world 
somewhat  prolix  and  trite,  but  illustrative  of  the  familiar  and 
practical  manner  in  which  Augustine  Washington,  in  the  daily- 
intercourse  of  domestic  life,  impressed  the  ductile  mind  of  his 
child  with  high  maxims  of  religion  and  virtue,  and  imbued  him 
with  a  spirit  of  justice  and  generosity,  and,  above  all,  a  scru- 
pulous love  of  truth. 

When  George  was  about  seven  or  eight  years  old  his  brother 
Lawrence  returned  from  England,  a  well-educated  and  accom- 
plished youth.  There  was  a  difference  of  fourteen  years  in 
their  ages,  which  may  have  been  one  cause  of  the  strong  at- 
tachment which  took  place  between  them.  Lawrence  looked 
down  with  a  protecting  eye  upon  the  boy  whose  dawning  in- 
telligence and  perfect  rectitude  won  his  regard ;  while  George 
looked  up  to  his  manly  and  cultivated  brother  as  a  model  in 
mind  and  manners.  We  call  particular  attention  to  this 
brotherly  interchange  of  affection,  from  the  influence  it  had 
on  all  the  future  career  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

Lawrence  Washington  had  something  of  the  old  military 
spirit  of  the  family,  and  circumstances  soon  called  it  into  action. 
Spanish  depredations  on  British  commerce  had  recently  provoked 
reprisals.  Admiral  Vernon,  commander-in-chief  in  the  West 
Indies,  had  accordingly  captured  Porto  Bello,  on  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien.  The  Spaniards  were  preparing  to  revenge  the  blow  ; 
the  French  were  fitting  out  ships  to  aid  them.  Troops  were 
embarked  in  England  for  another  campaign  in  the  West  Indies  ; 
a  regiment  of  four  battalions  was  to  be  raised  in  the  colonies  and 
sent  to  join  them  at  Jamaica.  There  was  a  sudden  outbreak  of  mili- 
tary ardor  in  the  province  ;  the  sound  of  drum  and  fife  was  heard 
in  the  villages,  with  the  parade  of  recruiting  parties.  Lawrence 
Washington,  now  twentj^-two  years  of  age,  caught  the  infection. 
He  obtained  a  captain's  commission  in  the  newly  raised  regiment, 
and  embarked  with  it  for  the  AVest  Indies  in  1740.  He  served 
in  the  joint  expeditions  of  Admiral  Vernon  and  General  Went- 
worth,  in  the  land  forces  commanded  by  the  latter,  and  acquired 
the  friendship  and  confidence  of  both  of  those  officers.  He 
was  present  at  the  siege  of  Carthagena,  when  it  was  bombarded 
by  the  fleet,  and  when  the  troops  attempted  to  escalade  the 
citadel.  It  was  an  ineffectual  attack ;  the  slkips  could  not  get 
near  enough  to  throw  their  shells  into  the  town,  and  the  scaling- 
ladders  proved  too  short.  That  part  of  the  attack,  however, 
with  which  Lawrence  was  concerned,  distinguished  itself  by 
its  bravery.  The  troops  sustained  unflinching  a  destructive 
fire  for  several  hours,  and  at  length  retired  with  honor,  their 
small  force  having  sustained  a  loss  of  about  six  hundred  in 
killed  and  wounded. 


14  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

We  have  here  the  secret  of  that  martial  spirit  so  often  cited 
of  George  in  his  boyish  days.  He  had  seen  his  brother  fitted 
out  for  the  wars.  He  had  heard  by  letter  and  otherwise  of  the 
warlike  scenes  in  which  he  was  mingling.  All  his  amusements 
took  a  military  tur*li.  He  made  soldiers  of  his  schoolmates ; 
they  had  their  mimic  parades,  reviews,  and  sham  fights  ;  a  boy 
named  William  Bustle  was  sometimes  his  competitor,  but 
George  was  commander-in-chief  of  Hobby's  school. 

Lawrence  Washington  returned  home  in  the  autumn  of  1742, 
the  campaigns  in  the  West  Indies  being  ended,  and  Admiral 
Vernon  and  General  Wentworth  being  recalled  to  England. 
It  was  the  intention  of  Lawrence  to  rejoin  his  regiment  in  that 
country,  and  seek  promotion  in  the  army,  but  circumstances 
completely  altered  his  plans.  He  formed  an  attachment  to 
Anne,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Honorable  William  Fairfax  of 
Fairfax  County;  his  addresses  were  well  received,  and  they  became 
engaged.  Their  nuptials  were  delayed  by  the  sudden  and  un- 
timely death  of  his  father,  which  took  place  on  the  12th  of  April, 
1743,  after  a  short  but  severe  attack  of  gout  in  the  stomach, 
and  when  but  forty-nine  years  of  age.  George  had  been  absent 
from  home  on  a  visit  during  his  father's  illness,  and  iust 
returned  in  time  to  receive  a  parting  look  of  affection. 

Augustine  Washington  left  large  possessions,  distributed 
by  will  among  his  children.  To  Lawrence,  the  estate  on  the 
banks  of  the  Potomac,  with  other  real  property,  and  several 
shares  in  iron  works.  To  Augustine,  the  second  son  by  the 
first  marriage,  the  old  homestead  and  estate  in  Westmoreland. 
The  children  by  the  second  marriage  were  severally  well  provided 
for,  and  George,  when  he  became  of  age,  was  to  have  the  house 
and  lands  on  the  Rappahannock. 

In  the  month  of  July  the  marriage  of  Lawrence  with  Miss 
Fairfax  took  place.  He  now  gave  up  all  thoughts  of  foreign 
service,  and  settled  himself  on  his  estate  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Mount  Vernon,  in 
honor  of  the  Admiral. 

Augustine  took  up  his  abode  at  the  homestead  on  Bridges 
Creek,  and  married  Anne,  daughter  and  coheiress  of  William 
Aylett,  Esquire,  of  Westmoreland  County. 

George,  now  eleven  years  of  age,  and  the  other  children  of 
the  second  marriage,  had  been  left  under  the  guardianship  of 
their  mother,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  proceeds  of  all  their 
property  until  they  should  severally  come  of  age.  She  proved 
herself  worthy  of  the  trust.  Endowed  with  plain,  direct  good 
sense,  thorough  conscientiousness,  and  prompt  decision,  she 
governed  her  family  strictly,  but  kindly,  exacting  deference  while 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  15 

she  inspired  affection.  George,  being  lier  eldest  son,  was 
thought  to  be  her  favorit,  yet  she  never  gave  him  undue  prefer- 
ence, and  the  implicite  deference  exacted  from  him  in  childhood 
continued  to  be  habitually  observed  by  to  him  to  the  day  of  her 
death.  He  inherited  from  her  a  high  temper  and  a  spirit  of 
command,  but  her  early  precepts  and  example  taught  him  to 
restrain  and  govern  that  temper,  and  to  square  his  conduct  on 
the  exact  principles  of  equity  and  justice. 

Tradition  gives  an  interesting  picture  of  the  widow,  with  her 
little  flock  gathered  round  her,  as  was  her  daily  wont,  reading 
to  them  lessons  of  religion  and  morality  out  of  some  standard 
work.  Her  favorite  volume  was  Sir  Matthew  Hale's  Contem- 
plations, moral  and  divine.  The  admirable  maxims  therein 
contained,  for  outward  action  as  well  as  self-government,  sank 
deep  into  the  mind  of  George,  and,  doubtless,  had  a  great  in- 
fluence informing  his  character.  They  certainly  were  exempli- 
fied in  his  conduct  throughout  life.  This  mother's  manual, 
bearing  his  mother's  name,  Mary  Washington,  written  with 
her  own  hand,  was  ever  preserved  by  him  with  filial  care,  and 
may  still  be  seen  in  the  archives  of  Mount  Vernon.  A  precious 
document  I  Let  those  who  wish  to  know  the  moral  foundation 
of  his  character  consult  its  pages. 

Having  no  longer  the  benefit  of  a  father's  instructions  at 
home,  and  the  scope  of  tuition  of  Hobby,  the  sexton,  being  too 
limited  for  the  growing  wants  of  his  pupil,  George  was  now  sent 
to  reside  with  Augustine  Washington,  at  Bridges  Creek,  and 
enjoy  the  benefit  of  a  superior  school  in  that  neighborhood,kept 
by  a  Mr.  Williams.  His  education,  however,  was  plain  and 
practical.  He  never  attempted  the  learned  languages,  nor 
manifested  any  inclination  for  rhetoric  or  belles-lettres.  His 
object  or  the  object  of  his  friends,  seems  to  have  been  confined 
to  fitting  him  for  ordinary  business.  His  manuscript  school- 
books  still  exist,  and  are  models  of  neatness  and  accuracy. 

One  of  them,  it  is  true,  a  ciphering-book,  preserved  in  the  libra- 
ry at  MountVernon,  has  some  school-boy  attempts  at  calligraphy: 
nondescript  birds,  executed  with  a  flourish  of  the  pen,  or  profiles 
of  faces,  probably  intended  for  those  of  his  schoolmates  the  rest 
are  all  grave  and  business-like.  Before  he  was  thirteen  years 
of  age  he  had  copied  into  a  volume  forms  for  all  kinds  of  mercan- 
tile and  legal  papers ;  bills  of  exchange,  notes  of  hand,  deeds, 
bonds,  and  the  like.  This  early  self-tuition,  gave  him  through- 
out life  a  lawyer's  skill  in  drafting  documents,  and  a  merchant's 
exactness  in  keeping  accounts ;  so  that  all  the  concerns  of  his 
various  estates,  his  dealings  with  his  domestic  stewards  and 
foreign  agents,  his  accounts  with  government,  and  all  his  finan- 


16  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

cial  transactions  are  to  this  day  to  be  seen  pasted  up  in  books, 
in  his  own  handwriting,  monuments  of  his  method  and  unwearied 
accuracy. 

He  was  a  self-disciplinarian  in  physical  as  well  as  mental 
matters,  and  practiced  himself  in  all  kinds  of  athletic  exercises, 
such  as  running,  leaping,  wrestling,  pitching  quoits,  and  tossing 
bars.  His  frame  even  in  infancy  had  been  large  and  powerful, 
and  he  now  excelled  most  of  his  playmates  in  contests  of  agility 
and  strength.  As  a  proof  of  his  muscular  power,  a  place  is  still 
pointed  out  at  Fredericksburg,  near  the  lower  ferry,  where,  when 
a  boy,  he  flung  a  stone  across  the  Rappahannock.  In  horse- 
manship, too,  he  already  excelled,  and  was  ready  to  back  and 
able  to  manage  the  most  fiery  steed.  Traditional  anecdotes  re- 
main of  his  achievements  in  this  respect. 

Above  all,  his  inherent  probity  and  the  principles  of  justice 
on  which  he  regulated  all  his  conduct,  even  at  this  early  period 
of  life,  were  soon  appreciated  by  his  schoolmates ;  he  was  re- 
ferred to  as  an  umpire  in  their  disputes,  and  his  decisions  were 
never  reversed.  As  he  had  formerly  been  military  chieftain, 
he  was  now  legislator  of  the  school ;  thus  displaying  in  boyhood 
a>  type  of  the  future  man. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PATERNAli  CONDUCT  OF    AN    ELDER   BROTHER. THE    FAIRFAX 

FAMILY. — Washington's  code  of  morals  and  manners. — 

soldiers'    tales. THEIR   INFLUENCE. — WASHINGTON     PRE- 
PARES FOR  THE  NAVY. A  MOTHER^S    OBJECTIONS. RETURN 

TO  SCHOOL. STUDIES  AND  EXERCISES. — A    SCHOOL-BOY   PAS- 
SION.  THE   LOWLAND    BEAUTY. LOVE    DITTIES    AT    MOUNT 

VERNON. VISIT  TO    BELVOIR. LORD    FAIRFAX. HIS  CHAR- 
ACTER.  FOX-HUNTING  A  REMEDY    FOR  LOVE. PROPOSITION 

FOR  A  SURVEYING  EXPEDITION. 

The  attachment  of  Lawrence  Washington  to  his  brother 
George  seems  to  have  acquired  additional  strength  and  tender- 
ness on  their  father's  death ;  he  now  took  a  truly  paternal  in- 
terest in  his  concerns,  and  had  him  as  frequently  as  possible  a 
guest  at  Mount  Yernon.  Lawrence  had  deservedly  become 
a  popular  and  leading  personage  in  the  country.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  Adjutant-general  of 
the  district,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and  a  regular  salary.  A 
frequent  sojourn  with  him  brought  George  into  fatniliar  inter- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  17 

course  with  the  family  of  his  father-in-law,  the  Hon.  William 
Fairfax,  w^ho  resided  at  a  beautiful  seat  called  Belvoir,  a  few 
miles  below  Mount  Vernon,  and  on  the  same  woody  ridge  bor- 
dering the  Potomac. 

William  Fairfax  was  a  man  of  liberal  education  and  intrinsic 
worth ;  he  had  seen  much  of  the  world,  and  his  mind  had  been 
enriched  and  ripened  by  varied  and  adventurous  experience. 
Of  an  ancient  English  family  in  Yorkshire,  he  had  entered  the 
army  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  ;  had  served  with  honor  both  in 
the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  officiated  as  Governor  of  New 
Providence,  after  having  aided  in  rescuing  it  from  pirates.  For 
some  years  past  he  had  resided  in  Virginia,  to  manage  the  im- 
mense landed  estates  of  his  cousin,  Lord  Fairfax,  and  lived  at 
Belvoir  in  the  style  of  an  English  country  gentleman,  sur- 
rounded by  an  intelligent  and  cultivated  family  of  sons  and 
daughters. 

An  intimacy  with  a  family  like  this,  in  which  the  frankness 
and  simplicity  of  rural  and  colonial  life  were  united  with  Euro- 
pean refinement,  could  not  but  have  a  beneficial  effect  in 
moulding  the  character  and  manners  of  a  somewhat  home-bred 
school-boy.  It  was  probably  his  intercourse  with  them,  and 
his  ambition  to  acquit  himself  well  in  their  society,  that  set 
him  upon  compiling  a  code  of  morals  and  manners  which  still 
exists  in  a  manuscript  in  his  own  handwriting,  entitled  "  Rules 
for  Behavior  in  Company  and  Conversation."  It  is  extremely 
minute  and  circumstantial.  Some  of  the  rules  for  personal  de- 
portment extend  to  such  trivial  matters,  and  are  so  quaint  and 
formal  as  almost  to  provoke  a  smile ;  but,  in  the  main,  a  better 
manual  of  conduct  could  not  be  put  into  the  hands  of  a  youth. 
The  whole  code  evinces  that  rigid  propriety  and  self  control  to 
which  he  subjected  himself,  and  by  which  he  brought  all  the 
impulses  of  a  somewhat  ardent  temper  under  conscientious 
government. 

Other  influences  were  brought  to  bear  on  George  during  his 
visit  at  Mount  Vernon.  His  brother  Lawrence  still  retained 
some  of  his  military  inclinations,  fostered,  no  doubt,  by  his 
post  of  Adjutant-general.  William  Fairfax,  as  we  have  shown, 
had  been  a  soldier,  and  in  many  trying  scenes.  Some  of  Law- 
rence's comrades,  of  the  provincial  regiment,  who  had  served 
with  him  in  the  West  Indies,  were  occasional  visitors  at  Mount 
Vernon ;  or  a  ship  of  war,  possibly  one  of  Vernon's  old  fleet, 
would  anchor  in  the  Potomac,  and  its  officers  be  welcome  guests 
at  the  tables  of  Lawrence  and  his  father-in-law.  Thus  military 
scenes  on  sea  and  shore  would  become  the  topics  of  conversation. 
The  capture  of  Porto  Bello  j  the  bombardment  of  Carthagena ; 


18  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

old  stories  of  cruisings  in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  cam- 
paigns  against  the  pirates.  We  can  picture  to  ourselves  George, 
a  grave  and  earnest  boy,  with  an  expanding  intellect,  and  a  deep- 
seated  passion  for  enterprise,  listening  to  such  conversations 
with  a  kindling  spirit  and  a  growing  desire  for  military  life. 
In  this  way  most  probably  was  produced  that  desire  to  enter 
the  navy  which  he  evinced  when  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 
The  opportunity  for  gratifying  it  appeared  at  hand.  Ships  of 
war  frequented  the  colonies,  and  at  times,  as  we  have  hinted, 
were  anchored  in  the  Potomac.  The  inclination  was  encourag- 
ed by  Lawrence  Washington  and  Mr.  Fairfax.  Lawrence  re- 
tained pleasant  recollections  of  his  cruisings  in  the  fleet  of  Ad- 
miral Vernon,  and  considered  the  naval  service  a  popular  path 
to  fame  and  fortune.  George  was  at  a  suitable  age  to  enter 
the  navy.  The  great  difficulty  was  to  procure  the  assent  of 
his  mother.  She  was  brought,  however,  to  acquiesce ;  a  mid- 
shijjman's  warrant  was  obtained,  and  it  is  even  said  that  the 
luggage  of  the  youth  was  actually  on  Board  of  a  man  of 
war,  anchored  in  the  river  just  below  Mount  Vernon. 

At  the  eleventh  hour  the  mother's  heart  faltered.  This  was 
her  eldest  born.  A  son,  whose  strong  and  steadfast  character 
promised  to  be  a  support  to  herself  and  a  protection  to  her  other 
children.  The  thought  of  his  being  comjDletely  severed  from 
her  and  exposed  to  the  hardships  and  perils  of  a  boisterous  pro- 
fession, overcame  even  her  resolute  mind,  and  at  her  urgent 
remonstrances  the  nautical  scheme  was  given  up. 

To  school,  therefore,  George  returned,  and  continued  his  studies 
for  nearly  two  years  longer,  devoting  himself  especially  to  math- 
ematics, and  accomplishing  himself  in  those  branches  calculated 
to  fit  him  either  for  civil  or  military  service.  Among  these, 
one  of  the  most  important  in  the  actual  state  of  the  country 
was  land  surveying.  In  this  he  schooled  himself  thoroughly, 
using  the  highest  processes  of  the  art ;  making  surveys  about  the 
neighborhood,  and  keeping  regular  field  books,  some  of  which 
we  have  examined,  in  which  the  boundaries  and  measurements 
of  the  fields  surveyed  were  carefully  entered,  and  diagrams 
made,  with  a  neatness  and  exactness  as  if  the  whole  re- 
lated to  important  land  transactions  instead  of  being  mere 
school  exercises.  Thus,  in  his  earliest  days,  there  was  perseve- 
rance and  completness  in  all  his  undertakings.  Nothing  was 
left  half  done,  or  done  in  a  hurried  and  slovenly  manner.  The 
habit  of  mind  thus  cultivated  continued  throughout  life ;  so 
that  however  complicated  his  tasks  and  overwhelming  his  cares, 
in  the  arduous  and  hazardous  situations  in  which  he  was  often 
placed,  he  found  time  to  do  evey thing,  and  to  do  it  well.  -  Hq 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  19 

had  acquired  the  magic  of  method,  which  of  itself  works 
wonders. 

In  one  of  these  manuscript  memorials  of  his  practical  studies 
and  exercises,  we  have  come  upon  some  documents  singularly 
in  contrast  with  all  that  we  have  just  cited,  and  with  his  ap- 
parently unromantic  character.  In  a  word,  there  are  evidences 
in  his  own  handwriting,  that,  before  he  was  fifteen  years  of 
age,  he  had  conceived  a  passion  for  some  unknown  beauty,  so 
serious  as  to  disturb  his  otherwise  well-regulated  mind,  and  to 
make  him  really  unhappy.  Why  this  juvenile  attachment  was 
a  source  of  unhappiness  we  have  no  positive  means  of  ascertain- 
ing. Perhaps  the  object  of  it  may  have  considered  him  a  mere 
school-boy,  and  treated  him  as  such ;  or  his  own  shyness  may 
have  been  in  his  way,  and  his  "  rules  for  behavior  and  conver- 
sation "  may  as  yet  have  sat  awkwardly  on  him,  and  rendered 
him  formal  and  ungainly  when  he  most  sought  to  please.  Even 
in  later  years  he  was  apt  to  be  silent  and  embarrassed  in  female 
society.  "  He  was  a  very  bashful  young  man,^'  said  an  old 
lady,  whom  he  used  to  visit  when  they  were  both  in  their  non- 
age.    "  I  used  often  to  wish  that  he  would  talk  more.^' 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  reason,  this  early  attachment 
seems  to  have  been  a  source  of  poignant  discomfort  to  him.  It 
clung  to  him  after  he  took  a  final  leave  of  school  in  the  autumn 
of  1747,  and  went  to  reside  with  his  brother  Lawrence  at 
Mount  Vernon.  Here  he  continued  his  mathematical  studies 
and  his  practice  in  surveying  disturbed  at  times  by  recurrences 
of  his  unlucky  passion.  Though  by  no  means  of  a  poetical 
temperament,  the  waste  pages  of  his  journal  betray  sev- 
eral attempts  to  pour  forth  his  amorous  sorrows  in  verse.  They 
are  mere  commonplace  rhymes,  such  as  lovers  at  his  age  are 
apt  to  write,  in  which  he  bewails  his  "  poor  restless  heart, 
wounded  by  Cupid's  dart,''  and  ''bleeding  for  one  who  remains 
pitiless  of  his  griefs  and  woes." 

The  tenor  of  some  of  his  verses  induce  us  to  believe  that  he 
never  told  his  love  ;  but,  as  we  have  already  surmised,  was  pre- 
vented by  his  bashfulness. 

"  Ah,  woe  is  me,  that  I  should  love  and  conceal ; 
Long  have  I  wished  and  never  dare  reveal." 

It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  one's  self  to  the  idea  of  cool  and  se- 
date Washington,  the  great  ^champion  of  American  liberty,  a 
woe-worn  lover  in  his  youthful  days,  "  sighing  like  furnace," 
and  inditing  plaintive  verses  about  the  groves  of  Mount  Ver- 
non. \  We  are  glad  of  an  opportunity,  however,  of  penetrating 
to  his  native  feelings^  and  finding  that  under  his  studied  de- 


20  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

corum  and  reserve  he  had  a  heart  of  flesh  throbbing  with  the 
warm  impulses  of  human  nature. 

Being  a  favorite  of  Sir  William  Pairfax,  he  was  now  an  oc- 
casional inmate  of  Belvoir.  Among  the  persons  at  present  re- 
siding there  was  Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  cousin  of  William  Fair- 
fax, and  of  whose  immense  landed  property  the  latter  was  the 
agent.  As  this  nobleman  was  one  of  Washington's  earliest 
friends,  and  in  some  degree  the  founder  of  his  fortunes,  his 
character  and  history  are  worthy  of  especial  note. 

Lord  Fairfax  was  now  nearly  sixty  years  of  age,  upwards  of 
six  feet  high,  gaunt  and  raw-boned,  near-sighted,  with  light 
gray  eyes,  sharp  features,  and  an  aquiline  nose.  However  un- 
gainly his  present  appearance,  he  had  figured  to  advantage  in 
London  life  in  his  younger  days.  He  had  received  his  educa- 
tion at  the  University  of  Oxford,  where  he  acquitted  himself 
with  credit.  He  afterwards  held  a  commission,  and  remained 
for  some  time  in  a  regiment  of  horse  called  the  Blues.  His  title 
and  connections,  of  course,  give  him  access  to  the  best  society, 
in  which  he  acquired  additional  currency  by  contributing  a 
paper  or  two  to  Addison's  "  Spectator,"  then  in  great  vogue. 

In  the  height  of  his  fashionable  career,  he  became  strongly 
attached  to  a  young  lady  of  rank  ;  paid  his  addresses,  and  was 
accepted.  The  wedding  day  was  fixed  ;  the  wedding  dresses 
were  provided,  together  with  servants  and  equipages  for  the 
matrimonial  establishment.  Suddenly  the  lady  broke  her  en- 
gagement. She  had  been  dazzled  by  the  superior  brilliancy  of 
a  ducal  coronet. 

It  was  a  cruel  blow,  alike  to  the  affection  and  pride  of  Lord 
Fairfax,  and  wrought  a  change  in  both  character  and  conduct. 
From  that  time  he  almost  avoided  the  sex,  and  became  shy  and 
embarrassed  in  their  society,  excepting  among  those  with  whom 
he  was  connected  or  particularly  intimate.  This  may  have 
been  among  the  reasons  which  ultimately  induced  him  to  aban- 
don the  gay  world  and  bury  himself  in  the  wilds  of  America. 
He  made  a  voyage  to  Virginia  about  the  year  1739,  to  visit  his 
vast  estates  there.  These  he  inherited  from  his  mother,  Cath- 
arine, daughter  of  Thomas,  Lord  Culpepper,  to  whom  they  had 
been  granted  by  Charles  II.  The  original  grant  was  for  all  the 
lands  lying  between  the  Rappahannock  and  Potomac  rivers  ; 
meaning  thereby,  it  is  said,  merely  the  territory  on  the  North- 
ern Neck,  east  of  the  Blue  Bidge.  His  lordship,  however,  dis- 
covering that  the  Potomac  headed  in  the  Alleghany  Mountain's 
returned  to  England  and  claimed  a  correspondent  definition  of 
his  grant.  It  was  arranged  by  compromise  ;  extending  his 
domain  into  tlie  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  comprising, 
among  other  lands,  a  great  portion  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  21 

Lord  Fairfax  had  been  delighted  with  his  visit  to  Virginia. 
The  amenity  of  the  climate^  the  magnificence  of  the  forest 
scenery,  the  abundance  of  game, — all  pointed  it  out  as  a  favored 
land.  He  was  pleased,  too,  with  the  frank,  cordial  character  of 
the  Virginians,  and  their  independent  mode  of  life  ;  and  re- 
turned to  it  with  the  resolution  of  taking  up  his  abode  there 
for  the  remainder  of  his  days.  His  early  disappointment  in 
love  was  the  cause  of  some  eccentricities  in  his  conduct ;  yet 
he  was  amiable  and  courteous  in  his  manners,  and  of  a  liberal 
and  generous  spirit. 

Another  inmate  of  Belvoir  at  this  time  was  George  William 
Fairfax,  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
proprietor.  He  had  been  educated  in  England,  and  since  his 
return  had  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Carey,  of  Hampton, 
on  James  Eiver.  He  had  recently  brought  home  his  bride  and 
her  sister  to  his  father's  house. 

The  merits  of  Washington  were  known  and  appreciated  by 
tho  Fairfax  family.  Though  not  quite  sixteen  years  of  age,  he 
no  longer  seemed  a  boy,  nor  was  he  treated  as  such.  Tall, 
athletic,  and  manly  for  his  years,  his  early  self -training,  and 
the  code  of  conduct  he  had  devised,  gave  a  gravity  and  decision 
to  his  conduct ;  his  frankness  and  modesty  inspired  cordial 
regard,  and  the  melancholy,  of  which  he  speaks,  may  have  pro- 
duced a  softness  in  his  manner  calculated  to  win  favor  in  ladies' 
eyes.  According  to  his  own  account,  the  female  society  by 
which  he  was  surrounded  had  a  soothing  effect  on  that  melan- 
ancholy.  The  charms  of  Miss  Carey,  the  sister  of  the  bride, 
seemed  even  to  have  caused  a  slight  fluttering  in  his  bosom, 
which,  however,  was  constantly  rebuked  by  the  remembrance 
of  his  former  passion — so  at  least  we  judge  from  letters  to  his 
youthful  confidants,  rough  drafts  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen 
in  his  tell-tale  journal. 

To  one  whom  he  addresses  as  his  dear  friend  E-obin,  he 
writes  :  "  My  residence  is  at  present  at  his  lordship's,  where  I 
might,  was  my  heart  disengaged,  pass  my  time  very  pleasantly, 
as  there's  a  very  agreeable  young  lady  lives  in  the  same  house 
(Col.  George  Fairfax's  wife's  sister);  but  as  that's  only  adding  fuel 
to  fire,  it  makes  me  the  more  uneasy,  for  by  often  and  unavoid- ' 
ably  being  in  company  with  her,  revives  my  former  passion  for 
your  Lowland  Beauty  ;  whereas  was  I  to  live  more  retired 
from  young  women,  I  might  in  some  measure  alleviate  my 
sorrows,  by  burying  that  chaste  and  troublesome  passion  in  the 
grave  of  oblivion,"  etc. 

Similar  avowals  he  makes  to  another  of  his  young  corre- 
spondents, whom  he   styles,  "  Dear  friend  John  ;  "  as  also  to  a 


22  T^I^^  OF  WASUiNGfON. 

female  confidant,  styled,  "  Dear  Sally,"  to  whom  he  acknowl- 
edges t?iat  the  company  of  the  "very  agreeable  young  lady, 
sister-in-law  of  Col.  Greorge  Fairfax,"  in  a  great  measure  cheers 
his  sorrow  and  dejectedness. 

The  object  of  this  early  passion  is  not  positively  known. 
Tradition  states  that  the  "  lowland  beauty  "  was  a  Miss  Grimes, 
of  Westmoreland,  afterwards  Mrs.  Lee,  and  mother  of  General 
Henry  Lee,  who  figured  in  revolutionary  history  as  Light 
Horse  Harry,  and  was  always  a  favorite  with  Washington,  prob- 
ably from  the  recollections  of  his  early  tenderness  for  the 
mother. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  soothing  effect  of  the  female 
society  by  which  he  was  surrounded  at  Belvoir,  the  youth 
found  a  more  effectual  remedy  for  his  love  melancholy  in  the 
company  of  Lord  Fairfax.  His  lordship  was  a  staunch  fox- 
hunter,  and  kept  horses  and  hounds  in  the  English  st^^e.  The 
hunting  season  had  arrived.  The  neighborhood  abounded  with 
sport ;  but  fox-hunting  in  Virginia  required  bold  and  skillful 
horsemanship.  He  found  Washington  as  bold  as  himself  in 
the  saddle,  and  as  eager  to  follow  the  hounds.  He  forthwith 
took  him  into  peculiar  favor ;  made  him  his  hunting  compan- 
ion ;  and  it  was  probably  under  the  tuition  of  this  hard-riding 
old  nobleman  that  the  youth  imbibed  that  fondness  for  the 
chase  for  which  he  was  afterwards  remarked. 

Their  fox-hunting  intercourse  was  attended  with  more  im- 
portant results.  His  lordship's  possessions  beyond  the  Blue 
Ridge  had  never  been  regularly  settled  nor  surveyed.  Law- 
less intruders — squatters  as  they  were  called,  were  planting 
themselves  along  the  finest  streams  and  in  the  richest  valleys, 
and  virtually  taking  possession  of  the  country.  It  was  the 
anxious  desire  of  Lord  Fairfax  to  have  these  lands  examined, 
surveyed,  and  portioned  out  into  lots,  preparatory  to  ejecting 
these  interlopers  or  bring  them  to  reasonable  terms.  In 
Washington,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  he  beheld  one  fit  for 
the  task — having  noticed  the  exercises  in  surveying  which  he 
kept  up  while  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  the  aptness  and  exactness 
with  which  every  process  was  executed.  He  was  well  calcu- 
lated, too,  by  his  vigor  and  activity,  his  courage  and  hardihood, 
to  cope  with  the  wild  country  to  be  surveyed,  and  with  its  still 
wilder  inhabitants.  "The  proposition  had  only  to  be  offered  to 
Washington  to  be  eagerly  accepted.  It  was  the  very  kind  of 
occupation  for  which  he*  had  been  diligently  training  himself. 
All  the  preparations  required  by  one  of  his  simple  habits  were 
soon  made,  and  in  a  very  few  days  he  was  ready  for  his  first 
expedition  into  the  wilderness. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOJ^,  23 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EXPEDITION  BEYOND  THE  BLUE  RIDGE. THE    VALLEY    OF    THE 

SHENANDOAH. LORD  FAIRFAX. LODGE  IN  THE  WILDER- 
NESS.  SURVEYING. LIFE    IN     THE    BACKWOODS. INDIANS. 

WAR       DANCE. GERMAN       SETTLERS. RETURN        HOME. 

WASHINGTON  AS  PUBLIC  SURVEYOR. SOJOURN  AT  GREEN- 
WAY  COURT. — HORSES,  HOUNDS,  AND  BOOKS. RUGGED  EX- 
PERIENCE   AMONG   THE    MOUNTAINS. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  March  (1748),  and  just  after  he  had 
completed  his  sixteenth  year,  that  Washington  set  out  on  horse- 
back on  this  surveying  expedition,  in  company  with  George 
"William  Fairfax.  Their  route  lay  by  Ashley's  Gap,  a  pass 
through  the  Blue  Ridge,  that  beautiful  line  of  mountains  which 
as  yet,  almost  formed  the  western  frontier  of  inhabited  Virginia. 
Winter  still  lingered  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  whence 
melting  snows  sent  down  torrents,  which  swelled  the  rivers  and 
occasionally  rendered  them  almost  impassable.  Spring,  how- 
ever, was  softening  the  lower  parts  of  the  landscape  and  smiling 
in  the  valleys. 

They  entered  the  great  Valley  of  Virginia,  where  it  is  about 
twenty-five  miles  wide  ;  a  lovely  and  temperate  region,  diversi- 
fied by  gentle  swells  and  slopes,  admirably  adapted  to  culti- 
vation. The  Blue  Ridge  bounds  it  on  one  side,  the  North 
Mountain,  a  ridge  of  the  Alleghanies,  on  the  other;  while 
through  it  flows  that  bright  and  abounding  river,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  its  surpassing  beauty,  was  named  by  the  Indians  the 
Shenandoah — that  is  to  say,  '^  the  daughter  of  the  stars." 

The  first  station  of  the  travellers  was  at  a  kind  of  lodge  in 
the  wilderness,  where  the  steward  or  land-bailiff  of  Lord  Fair- 
fax resided,  with  such  negroes  as  were  required  for  farming  pur- 
poses, and  which  Washington  terms  "  his  lordship's  quarters.". 
It  was  situated  not  far  from  the  Shenandoah,  and  about  twelve 
miles  from  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Winchester. 

In  a  diary  kept  with  his  usual  minuteness,  Washington 
speaks  with  delight  of  the  beauty  of  the  trees  and  the  richness 
of  the  land  in  the  neighborhood,  and  of  his  riding  through  a 
noble  grove  of  sugar  maples  on  the  banks  of  the  Shenandoah  ; 
and  at  the  present  day  the  magnificence  of  the  forest  which, 
still  exist  in  this  favored  region  justifies  his  eulogium. 


24  ^  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

He  looked  around,  however,  with  an  eye  to  the  profitable 
rather  than  the  poetical.  The  gleam  of  poetry  and  romance, 
inspired  by  his  "  lowland  beauty,"  occurs  no  more.  The  real 
business  of  life  has  commenced  with  him.  His  diary  affords 
no  food  for  fancy.  Everything  is  practical.  The  qualities  of 
the  soil,  the  relative  value  of  sites  and  localities,  are  faithfully 
recorded.  In  these  his  early  habits  of  observation  and  his  ex- 
ercises in  surveying  had  already  made  him  a  proficient. 

His  surveys  commenced  in  the  lower  part  of  the  valley,  some 
distance  above  the  junction  of  the  Shenandoah  with  the  Poto- 
mac, and  extended  for  many  miles  along  the  former  river.  Here 
and  there  partial  "  clearings  "  had  been  made  by  squatters  and 
hardy  pioneers,  and  their  rude  husbandry  had  produced 
abundant  crops  of  grain,  hemp,  and  tobacco ;  civilization,  how- 
ever, had  hardty  yet  entered  the  valley,  if  we  may  judge  from 
the  note  of  a  night's  lodging  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  settlers 
— Captain  Hite,  near  th^  site  of  the  present  town  of  Winches- 
ter. Here,  after  supper,  most  of  the  company  stretched  them- 
selves in  backwoods  style,  before  the  fire  ;  but  Washington  was 
shown  into  a  bedroom.  Fatigued  with  a  hard  day's  work  at 
surveying,  he  soon  undressed;  but  instead  of  being  nestled 
between  sheets  in  a  comfortable  bed,  as  at  the  maternal  home 
or  at  Mount  Vernon,  he  found  himself  on  a  couch  of  matted 
straw,  under  a  threadbare  blanket,  swarming  with  unwelcome 
bedfellows.  After  tossing  about  for  a  few  moments,  he  was 
glad  to  put  on  his  clothes  again,  and  rejoin  his  companions 
before  the  fire. 

Such  was  his  first  experience  of  life  in  the  wilderness  ;  he 
soon,  however,  accustomed  himself  to  "  rough  it,"  and  adapt 
himself  to  fare  of  all  kinds,  though  he  generally  preferred  a 
bivouac  before  a  fire,  in  the  open  air,  to  the  accommodations  of 
a  woodman's  cabin.  Proceeding  down  the  valley  to  the  banks 
of  the  Potomac,  they  found  that  river  so  much  swollen  by  the 
rain  which  had  fallen  among  the  Alleghanies,  as  to  be  unford- 
able.  To  while  away  the  time  until  it  should  subside,  they 
made  an  excursion  to  examine  certain  warm  springs  in  a  valley 
among  the  mountains,  since  called  the  Berkeley  Springs.  There 
they  camped  out  at  night,  under  the  stars  ;  the  diary  makes  no 
complaint  of  their  accommodations  ;  and  their  camping-ground 
is  now  known  as  Bath,  one  of  the  favorite  watering-places  of 
Virginia.  One  of  the  warm  springs  was  subsequently  appropri- 
ated by  Lord  Fairfax  to  his  own  use,  and  still  bears  his  name. 

After  watching  in  vain  for  the  river  to  subside,  they  procured 
a  canoe^  on  which  they  crossed  to  the  Maryland  side,  swimming 
their  horses.     A  weary  day's  ride  of  forty  miles  up  to  the  left 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  25 

side  of  the  river,  in  a  continual  rain,  Yind  over  what  Washington 
pronounces  the  worst  road  ever  trod  by  man  or  beast,  brought 
them  to  tlie  house  of  a  Colonel  Cresap,  opposite  the  south 
branch  of  the  Potomac,  where  they  put  up  for  the  night. 

Here  they  were  detained  three  or  four  days  by  inclement 
weather.  On  the  second  day  they  were  surprised  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  war  party  of  thirty  Indians,  bearing  a  scalp  as  a 
trophy.  A  little  liquor  procured  the  spectacle  of  a  war  dance. 
A  large  space  was  cleared,  and  a  fire  made  in  the  centre,  round 
which  the  warriors  took  their  seats.  The  principal  orator  made 
a  speech,  reciting  their  recent  exploits,  and  rousing  them  to 
triumph.  One  of  the  warriors  started  up  as  if  from  sleep,  and 
began  a  series  of  movements,  half-grotesque,  half-tragical ;  the 
rest  followed.  For  music,  one  savage  drummed  on  a  deer-skin, 
stretched  over  a  pot  half-filled  with  water ;  another  rattled  a 
gourd,  containing  a  few  shot,  and  decorated  with  a  horse's  tail. 
Their  strange  outcries,  and  uncouth  forms  and  garbs,  seen  by 
the  glare  of  the  fire,  and  their  whoops  and  yells,  made  them  ap- 
pear more  like  demons  than  human  beings.  AH  this  savage 
gambol  was  no  novelty  to  Washington's  companions,  experi- 
enced in  frontier  life  ;  but  to  the  youth,  fresh  from  school,  it 
was  a  strange  spectacle,  which  he  sat  contemplating  with  deep 
interest,  and  carefully  noted  down  in  his  journal.  It  will  be 
found  that  he  soon  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  savage 
character,  and  became  expert  at  dealing  with  these  inhabitants 
of  the  wilderness. 

From  this  encampment  the  party  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of 
Patterson's  Creek,  where  they  recrossed  the  river  in  a  canoe, 
swimming  their  horses  as  before.  More  than  two  weeks  were 
now  passed  by  them  in  the  wild  mountainous  regions  of  Fred- 
erick County,  and  about  the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac,  sur- 
veying lands  and  laying  out  lots,  camped  out  the  greater  part 
of  the  time,  and  subsisting  on  wild  turkeys  and  other  game. 
Each  one  was  his  own  cook ;  forked  sticks  served  for  spits,  and 
chips  of  wood  for  dishes.  The  weather  was  unsettled.  At  one 
time  their  tent  was  blown  down  ;  at  another  they  were  driven 
out  of  it  by  smoke  ;  now  they  were  drenched  with  rain,  and 
now  the  straw  on  which  Washington  was  sleeping  caught  fire, 
and  he  was  awakened  by  a  companion  just  in  time  to  escape  a 
scorching. 

The  only  variety  to  this  camp  life  was  a  supper  at  the  house 
of  one  Solomon  Hedge,  Esquire,  His  Majesty's  justice  of  the 
peace,  where  there  were  no  forks  at  table,  nor  any  knives  but 
such  as  the  guests  brought  in  their  pockets.  During  their  sur- 
veys they  were  followed  by  numbers  of  people,  some  of  them 


26  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

squatters,  anxious,  doubtless,  to  procure  a  cheap  title  to  the 
land  they  had  appropriated ;  others,  German  emigrants,  with 
their  wives  and  children,  seeking  a  new  home  in  the  wilderness. 
Most  of  the  latter  could  not  speak  English  ;  but  when  spoken 
to,  answered  in  their  native  tongue.  They  appeared  to  Wash- 
ington ignorant  as  Indians,  and  uncouth,  but  "  merry,  and  full 
of  antic  tricks."  Such  were  the  progenitors  of  the  sturdy  yeo- 
manry now  inhabiting  those  parts,  many  of  whom  still  preserve 
their  strong  German  characteristics. 

"I  have  not  slept  above  three  or  fournights  in  a  bed,"  writes 
Washington  to  one  of  his  young  friends  at  home ;  "  But  after 
walking  a  good  deal  all  the  day  I  have  lain  down  before  the 
fire  upon  a  little  straw  or  fodder,  or  a  bear  skin,  whichever  was 
to  be  had,  with  man,  wife,  and  children,  like  dogs  and  cats  ; 
and  happy  is  he  who  gets  the  berth  nearest  the  fire." 

Having  completed  his  surveys,  he  set  forth  from  the  south 
branch  of  the  Potomac  on  his  return  homeward,  crossed  the 
mountains  to  the  great  Cacapehon,  traversed  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  passed  through  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  on  the  12th  of 
April  found  himself  once  more  at  Mount  Vernon.  Por  his  ser- 
vices he  received,  according  to  his  note-book,  a  doubloon  per 
day  when  actively  employed,  and  sometimes  six  pistoles.* 

The  manner  in  which  he  had  acquitted  himself  in  this  ardu- 
ous expedition,  and  his  accounts  of  the  country  surveyed,  gave 
great  satisfaction  to  Lord  Fairfax,  who  shortly  afterwards 
moved  across  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  took  up  his  residence  at  the 
place  heretofore  noted  as  his  "  quarters."  Here  he  laid  out  a 
manor,  containing  ten  thousand  acres  of  arable  grazing  lands, 
vast  meadows,  and  noble  forests,  and  projected  a  spacious  manor 
house,  giving  to  the  place  the  name  of  Green  way  Court. 

It  was  probably  through  the  influence  of  Lord  Fairfax  that 
Washington  received  the  appointment  of  public  surveyor.  This 
conferred  authority  on  his  surveys,  and  entitled  them  to  be  re- 
corded in  the  county  offices  ;  and  so  invariably  correct  have 
these  surveys  been  found  that,  to  this  day,  wherever  any  of 
them  stand  on  record,  they  receive  implicit  credit. 

For  three  years  he  continued  in  this  occupation,  which  proved 
extremely  profitable,  from  the  vast  extent  of  country  to  be  sur- 
veyed and  the  very  limited  number  of  public  surveyors.  It 
made  him  acquainted,  also,  with  the  country,  the  nature  of  the 
soil  in  various  parts,  and  the  value  of  localities;  all  which 
proved  advantageous  to  him  in  his  purchases  in  after  years. 
Many  of  the  finest  parts  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley  are  yet 
owned  by  members  of  the  Washington  family. 
*  A  pistole  is  $3.60. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  27 

While  thus  employed  for  months  at  a  time  surveying  the 
lands  beyond  the  Blue  Eidge,  he  was  often  an  inmate  of  Green- 
way  Court.  The  projected  manor  house  was  never  even  com- 
menced. On  a  green  knoll  overshadowed  by  trees  was  a  long 
stone  building  one  story  in  height,  with  dormer  windows,  two 
Avooden  belfries,  chimneys  studded  with  swallow  and  martin 
coops,  and  a  roof  sloping  down  in  the  old  Virginia  fashion,  into 
low  projecting  eaves  that  formed  a  verandah  the  whole  length 
of  the  house.  It  was  probably  the  house  originally  occupied 
by  his  steward  or  land  agent,  but  was  now  devoted  to  hospitable 
purposes,  and  the  reception  of  guests.  As  to  his  lordship,  it 
was  one  of  his  many  eccentricities,  that  he  never  slept  in  the 
main  edifice,  but  lodged  apart  in  a  wooden  house  not  much 
above  twelve  feet  square.  In  a  small  building  was  his  office, 
where  quit-rents  were  given,  deeds  drawn,  and  business  trans- 
acted with  his  tenants. 

About  the  knoll  were  out-houses  for  his  numerous  servants, 
black  and  white,  with  stables  for  saddle-horses  and  hunters,  and 
kennels  fur  his  hounds ;  for  his  lordship  retained  his  keen  hunt- 
ing propensities,  and  the  neighborhood  abounded  in  game. 
Indians,  half-breeds,  and  leathern-clad  woodsmen  loitered  about 
the  place,  and  partook  of  the  abundance  of  the  kitchen.  His 
lordship's  table  was  plentiful  but  plain,  and  served  in  the  Eng- 
lish fashion. 

Here  Washington  had  full  opportunity,  in  the  proper  seasons, 
of  indulging  his  fondness  for  field  sports,  and  once  more  ac- 
companying his  lordship  in  the  chase.  The  conversation  of 
Lord  Fairfax,  too  was  full  of  interest  and  instruction  to  an 
inexperienced  youth,  from  his  cultivated  talents,  his  literary 
taste,  and  his  past  intercourse  with  the  best  society  of  Europe, 
and  its  most  distinguished  authors.  He  had  brought  books, 
too,  with  him  into  the  wilderness,  and  from  Washington's  diary 
we  find  that  during  his  sojourn  here  he  was  diligently  reading 
the  history  of  England,  and  the  essays  of  the  "  Spectator.'' 

Such  was  Greenway  Court  in  these  its  palmy  days.  We 
visited  it  recently  and  found  it  tottering  to  its  fall,  mouldering 
in  the  midst  of  a  magnificent  country  where  nature  still  flour- 
ishes in  full  luxuriance  and  beauty. 

Three  or  four  years  were  thus  passed  by  Washington,  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  but  occasionally 
with  his  brother  Lawrence  at  Mount  Vernon.  His  rugged 
and  toilsome  expeditions  in  the  mountains,  among  rude  scenes 
and  rough  people,  inured  him  to  hardships,  and  made  him  apt 
at  expedients  ;  while  his  intercourse  with  his  cultivated  brother, 
and  with  the  various  members  of  the  Fairfax  family,  had  a 


28  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

happy  effect  in  toning  up  his  mind  and  manners,  and  counter- 
acting the  careless  and  self-indulgent  habitudes  of  the  wilder- 
ness. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    CLAIMS    TO    THE    OHIO    VALLEY. WILD 

STATE  OF  THE    COUNTRY. PROJECTS  OF  SETTLEMENTS. THE 

OHIO  COMPANY. ENLIGHTENED  VIEWS  OF    LAWRENCE  WASH- 
INGTON.  FRENCH  RIVALRY. CELERON  DE  BIENVILLE. HIS 

SIGNS    OF    OCCUPATION. HUGH     CRAWFORD. GEORGE     CRO- 

GHAN,  A  VETERAN  TRADER,  AND  MONTOUR,  HIS  INTERPRETER. 

THEIR  MISSION  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA  TO  THE  OHIO  TRIBES. 

CHRISTOPHER  GIST,  THE  PIONEER  OF  THE  YADKIN. AGENT 

OF  THE  OHIO  COMPANY. HIS  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  FRONTIER. 

REPROBATE    TRADERS  AT    LOGSTOWN. NEGOTIATIONS    WITH 

THE  INDIANS. SCENES  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY. DIPLOMACY 

AT    PIQUA. KEGS  OF     BRANDY    AND    ROLLS  OF    TOBACCO. 

gist's    return    across    KENTUCKY. A     DESERTED  HOME. 

FRENCH  SCHEMES. CAPTAIN  JONCAIRE,  A  DIPLOMAT  OF  THE 

wilderness. HIS     SPEECH     AT     LOGSTOWN. THE    INDIAn's 

LAND. "  WHERE  ?  " 

During  the  time  of  Washington's  surveying  campaigns  among 
the  mountains,  a  grand  colonizing  scheme  had  been  set  on  foot, 
destined  to  enlist  him  in  hardy  enterprises,  and  in  some  degree 
to  shape  the  course  of  his  future  fortunes. 

The  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  had 
put  an  end  to  the  general  war  of  Europe,  had  left  undefined 
the  boundaries  between  the  British  and  French  possessions  in 
America ;  a  singular  remissness,  considering  that  they  had 
long  been  a  subject  in  dispute,  and  a  cause  of  frequent  conflicts 
in  the  colonies.  Immense  regions  were  still  claimed  by  both 
nations,  and  each  was  now  eager  to  forestall  the  other  by  getting 
possession  of  them,  and  strengthening  its  claim  by  occupancy. 

The  most  desirable  of  these  regions  lay  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains,  extending  from  the  lakes  to  the  Ohio,  and  em- 
bracing the  valley  of  that  river  and  its  tributary  streams.  An 
immense  territory,  possessing  a  salubrious  climate,  fertile  soil, 
fine  hunting  and  fishing  grounds,  and  facilities  by  lakes  and 
rivers  for  a  vast  internal  commerce. 

The  French  claimed  all  this  country  quite  to  the  Alleghany 
Mountains  by  the  right  of  discovery.     In  1673^  Pa^re  Mar- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  29 

quette,  with  his  companion,  Joliet,  of  Quebec,  both  subjects  of 
the  crown  of  France,  had  passed  down  the  Mississippi  in  a  canoe 
quite  to  the  Arkansas,  thereby,  according  to  an  alleged  maxim 
in  the  law  of  nations,  establishing  the  right  of  their  sovereign, 
not  merely  to  the  river  so  discovered  and  its  adjacent  lands, 
but  to  all  the  country  drained  by  its  tributary  streams,  of  which 
the  Ohio  was  one  ;  a  claim,  the  ramifications  of  which  might 
be  spread,  like  the  meshes  of  a  web,  over  half  the  continent. 

To  this  illimitable  claim  the  English  opposed  a  right  derived, 
at  second  hand,  from  a  traditionary  Indian  conquest.  A  treaty, 
they  said,  had  been  made  at  Lancaster,  in  1741,  between  com- 
missioners from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  and 
the  Iroquois  or  Six  Nations,  whereby  the  latter,  for  four  hund- 
red pounds,  gave  up  all  right  and  title  to  the  land  west  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains, even  to  the  Mississippi,  which  land,  accord- 
ing to  their  traditions,  had  been  conquered  l3y  their  forefathers. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  such  a  treaty  was  made,  and  such 
a  pretended  transfer  of  title  did  take  place,  under  the  influence 
of  spirituous  liquors  ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  the  Indians  in 
question  did  not,  at  the  time,  possess  an  acre  of  the  land  conveyed ; 
and  that  the  tribes  actually  in  possession  scoffed  at  their  pre- 
tensions, and  claimed  the  country  as  their  own  from  time  imme- 
morial. 

Such  were  the  shadowy  foundations  of  claims  which  the  two 
nations  were  determined  to  maintain  to  the  uttermost,  and 
which  ripened  into  a  series  of  wars,  ending  in  a  loss  to  Eng- 
land of  a  great  part  of  her  American  possessions  and  to  France 
of  the  whole. 

As  yet  in  the  region  in  question  there  was  not  a  single  white 
settlement.  Mixed  Iroquois,  tribes  of  Delawares,  Shawnees, 
and  Mingoes,  had  migrated  into  it  early  in  the  century  from  the 
French  settlements  in  Canada,  and  taken  up  their  abodes  about 
the  Ohio  and  its  branches.  The  French  pretended  to  hold  them 
under  their  protection ;  but  their  allegiance,  if  ever  acknowl- 
edged, had  been  snapped  of  late  years  by  the  influx  of  fur 
traders  from  Pennsylvania.  These  were  often  rough  lawless  men, 
half  Indians  in  dress  and  habits,  prone  to  brawls,  and  some- 
times deadly  in  their  feuds.  They  were  generally  in  the 
employ  of  some  trader,  who,  at  the  head  of  his  retainers  and  a 
string  of  pack-horses,  would  make  his  way  over  mountains  and 
through  forests  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  establish  his  head- 
quarters in  some  Indian  town,  and  disperse  his  followers  to  traffic 
among  the  hamlets,  hunting-camps  and  wigwams,  exchanging 
blarikets,  gaudy-colored  cloth,  trinketry,  powder,  shot,  and  rum, 
for  valuable   furs  and  peltry.     In   this  way  a  lucrative   trade 


30  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

with  these  western  tribes  was  springing  up  and  becoming  mono- 
polized by  the  Pennsylvanians. 

To  secure  a  participation  in  this  trade,  and  to  gain  a  foot- 
hold in  this  desirable  region,  became  now  the  wish  of  some  of 
the  most  intelligent  and  enterprising  men  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland,  among  whom  were  Lawrence  and  Augustine  Wash- 
ington. With  these  views  they  projected  a  scheme,  in  con- 
nection with  John  Hanbury,  a  wealthy  London  merchant  to 
obtain  a  grant  of  land  from  the  British  government,  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  settlements  or  colonies  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  Government  readily  countenanced  a  scheme  by  which 
French  encroachments  might  be  forestalled,  and  prompt  and 
quiet  possession  secured  of  the  great  Ohio  Valley.  An  as- 
sociation was  accordingly  chartered  in  1749,  by  the  name  of 
"  the  Ohio  Company,"  and  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land 
was  granted  to  it  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  between  the  Mon- 
ongahela  and  Kanawha  rivers,  though  part  of  the  land  might 
be  taken  up  north  of  the  Ohio,  should  it  be  deemed  expedient. 
The  Company  were  to  pay  no  quit-rent  for  ten  years ;  but  they 
were  to  select  two  fifths  of  their  lands  immediately ;  to  settle 
one  hundred  families  upon  them  within  seven  years ;  to  build 
a  fort  at  their  own  expense,  and  maintain  a  sufficient  garrison 
in  it  for  defense  against  the  Indians. 

Mr.  Thomas  Lee,  president  of  the  council  of  Virginia,  took 
the  lead  in  the  concerns  of  the  company  at  the  outset,  and  by 
many  has  been  considered  its  founder.  On  his  death,  which 
soon  took  place,  Lawrence  Washington  had  the  chief  manage- 
ment. His  enlightened  mind  and  liberal  spirit  shone  forth  in 
its  earliest  arrangements.  He  wished  to  form  the  settlements 
with  Germans  from  Pennsylvania.  Being  dissenters,  how- 
ever, they  would  be  obliged,  on  becoming  residents  within  the 
jurisdiction  Of  Virginia,  to  pay  parish  rates,  and  maintain  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  though  they  might  not 
understand  his  language  nor  relish  his  doctrines.  Lawrence 
sought  to  have  them  exempted  from  this  double  tax  on  purse 
and  conscience. 

"  It  has  ever  been  my  opinion,"  said  he,  "  and  I  hope  it 
ever  will  be,  that  restraints  on  conscience  are  cruel  in  regard 
to  those  on  whom  they  are  imposed,  and  injurious  to  the  coun- 
try imposing  them.  England,  Holland,  and  Prussia  I  may 
quote  as  examples,  and  much  more  Pennsylvania,  which  has 
flourished  under  that  delightful  liberty,  so  as  to  become  the 
admiration  of  every  man  who  considers  the   short  time  it  has 

been  settled This   colony   (Virginia)   was  greatly 

settled  in  the  latter  part  of  Charles  the  First's  time,  and  during 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  31 

tlie  usurpation,  by  tlie  zealous  churchmen ;  and  that  spirit, 
which  was  brought  in,  has  ever  since  continued ;  so  that,  ex- 
cept a  few  Quakers,  we  have  no  dissenters.  But  what  has 
been  the  consequence  ?  We  have  increased  by  slow  degrees, 
whilst  our  neighboring  colonies,  whose  natural  advantages  are 
greatly  inferior  to  ours,  have  become  populous." 

Such  were  the  enlightened  views  of  this  brother  of  our 
Washington,  to  whom  the  latter  owed  much  of  his  moral  and 
mental  training.  The  Company  proceeded  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  their  colonizing  scheme.  Goods  were  imported  from 
England  suited  to  the  Indian  trade,  or  for  presents  to  the 
chiefs.  Rewards  were  promised  to  veteran  warriors  and  hunters 
among  the  natives  acquainted  with  the  woods  and  mountains, 
for  the  best  route  to  the  Ohio.  Before  the  Company  had  re- 
ceived its  charter,  however,  the  French  were  in  the  field. 
Early  in  1749,  the  Marquis  de  la  Galisonnierre,  Governor  of 
Canada,  despatched  Celeron  de  Bienville,  an  intelligent 
officer,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  men,  to  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  to  make  peace,  as  he  said,  between  the  tribes  that  had 
become  embroiled  with  each  other  during  the  late  war,  and  to 
renew  the  French  possession  of  the  country.  Celeron  de 
Bienville  distributed  presents  among  the  Indians,  made  speeches 
reminding  them  of  former  friendship,  and  warned  them  not  to 
trade  with  the  English. 

He  furthermore  nailed  leaden  plates  to  trees,  and  buried 
others  in  the  earth,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  its 
tributaries,  bearing  inscriptions  purporting  that  all  the  lands 
on  both  sides  of  the  rivers  to  their  sources  appertained,  as  in 
foregone  times,  to  the  crown  of  France."*  The  Indians  gazed 
at  these  mysterious  plates  with  wondering  eyes,  but  surmised 
their  purport.  ''  They  mean  to  steal  our  country  from  us," 
murmured  they ;  and  they  determined  to  seek  protection  from 
the  English. 

Celeron  finding  some  traders  from  Pennsylvania  trafficking 
among  the  Indians,  he  summoned  them  to  depart,  and  wrote 
by  them  to  James  Hamilton,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
telling  him  the  object  of  his  errand  to  those  parts,  and  his 
surprise  at  meeting  with  English  traders  in  a  country  to  which 
England  had  no  pretensions  ;  intimating  that  in  future  any 
intruders  of  the  kind  would  be  rigorously  dealt  with. 

His  letter,  and  a  report  of  his  proceedings  on  the  Ohio, 
roused  the  solicitude  of  the  Governor  and  council  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  the  protection  of  their  Indian  trade.     Shortly  after. 

*  One  of  these  plates,  bearing  date  August  16,  1749,  was  found  in  re- 
cent years  at  the  confluence  of  the  Muskingum  with  the  Ohio. 


32  I^IFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

wards,  one  Hugh  Crawford,  who  had  been  trading  with  the 
Miami  tribes  on  the  Wabash,  brought  a  message  from  them, 
speaking  of  the  promises  and  threats  with  which  the  French 
were  endeavoring  to  shake  their  faith,  but  assuring  the  gov- 
ernor that  their  friendship  for  the  English  "  would  last  while 
the  sun  and  moon  ran  round  the  world/'  This  message  was 
accompanied  by  three  strings  of  wampum. 

Governor  Hamilton  knew  the  value  of  Indian  friendship,  and 
suggested  to  the  Assembly  that  it  would  be  better  to  clinch  it 
with  presents,  and  that  as  soon  as  possible.  An  envoy  accord- 
ingly was  sent  off  early  in  October,  who  was  supposed  to  have 
great  influence  among  the  western  tribes.  This  was  one 
George  Croghan,  a  veteran  trader,  shrewd  and  sagacious,  who 
had  been  frequently  to  the  Ohio  country  with  pack-horses  and 
followers,  and  made  himself  popular  among  the  Indians  by 
dispensing  presents  with  a  lavish  hand.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Andrew  Montour,  a  Canadian  of  half  Indian  descent,  who 
was  to  act  as  interpreter.  They  were  provided  with  a  small 
present  for  the  emergency  ;  but  were  to  convoke  a  meeting  of 
all  the  tribes  at  Logstown,  on  the  Ohio,  early  in  the  ensuing 
spring,  to  receive  an  ample  present  which  would  be  provided 
by  the  Assembly. 

It  was  some  time  later  in  the  same  autumn  that  the  Ohio 
Company  brought  their  plans  into  operation,  and  despatched 
an  agent  to  explore  the  lands  upon  the  Ohio  and  its  branches 
as  low  as  the  Great  Falls,  take  note  of  their  fitness  for  cultiva- 
tion, of  the  passes  of  the  mountains,  the  courses  and  bearings 
of  the  rivers,  and  the  strength  and  disposition  of  the  native 
tribes.  The  man  chosen  for  the  purpose  was  Christopher  Gist, 
a  hardy  pioneer,  experienced  in  woodcraft  and  Indian  life,  who 
had  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin,  near  the  boundary 
line  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  He  was  allowed  a  woods- 
man or  two  for  the  service  of  the  expedition.  He  set  out  on 
the  31st  of  October,  from  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  by  an  In- 
dian path  which  the  hunters  had  pointed  out,  leading  from 
Wills'  Creek,  since  called  Fort  Cumberland,  to  the  Ohio. 
Indian  paths  and  buffalo  tracks  are  the  primitive  highways  of 
the  wilderness.  Passing  the  Juniata,  he  crossed  the  ridges 
of  the  Alleghany,  arrived  at  Shannopin,  a  Delaware  village  on 
the  southeast  side  of  the  Ohio,  or  rather  of  that  upper  branch 
of  it  now  called  the  Alleghany,  swam  his  horses  across  that 
river,  and  descending  along  its  valley  arrived  at  Logstown,  an 
important  Indian  village  a  little  below  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Pittsburgh.  Here  usually  resided  Tanacharisson,  a 
Seneca  chief  of  great  note,   being  head   sachem  of  the   mixed 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOK.  S3 

tribes  wliich  had  migrated  to  the  Ohio  and  its  branches.  He 
was  generally  surnamed  the  Half-king,  being  subordinate  to 
the  Iroquois  confederacy.  The  chief  was  absent  at  this  time, 
as  were  most  of  his  people,  it  being  the  hunting  season.  George 
Croghan,  the  envoy  from  Penns^dvania,  with  Montour  his 
interpreter,  had  passed  through  Logstown  a  week  previousl}^, 
on  his  way  to  the  Twightwees  and  other  tribes,  on  the  Miami 
branch  of  the  Ohio.  Scarce  any  one  was  to  be  seen  about  the 
village  but  some  of  Croghan's  rough  people,  whom  he  had  left 
behind — "reprobate  Indian  traders,"  as  Gist  terms  them. 
They  regarded  the  latter  with  a  jealous  eye,  suspecting  him  of 
some  rivalship  in  trade,  or  designs  on  the  Indian  lands  ;  and 
intimated  significantly  that  "  he  would  never  go  home  safe." 

Gist  knew  the  meaning  of  such  hints  from  men  of  this  stamp 
in  the  lawless  depths  of  the  wilderness ;  but  quieted  their 
suspicions  by  letting  them  know  that  he  was  on  public  busi- 
ness, and  on  good  terms  with  their  great  man,  George  Croghan, 
to  whom  he  despatched  a  letter.  He  took  his  departure  from 
Logstown,  however,  as  soon  as  possible,  preferring,  as  he  said, 
the  solitude  of  the  wilderness  to  such  company. 

At  Beaver  Creek,  a  few  miles  below  the  village,  he  left  the 
river  and  struck  into  the  interior  of  the  present  State  of  Ohio. 
Here  he  overtook  George  Croghan  at  Muskingum,  a  town  of 
Wyandots  and  Mingoes.  He  had  ordered  all  the  traders  in  his 
employ  who  were  scattered  among  the  Indian  villages,  to  rally 
at  this  town,  where  he  had  hoisted  the  English  flag  over  his 
residence,  and  over  that  of  the  sachem.  This  was  in  conse- 
quence of  the  hostility  of  the  French,  who  had  recently  cap- 
tured, in  the  neighborhood,  three  white  men  in  the  employ  of 
Frazier,  an  Indian  trader,  and  had  carried  them  away  prisoners 
to  Canada. 

Gist  was  well  received  by  the  people  of  Muskingum.  They 
were  indignant  at  the  French  violation  of  their  territories,  and 
the  capture  of  their  "  English  brothers."  They  had  not  for- 
gotten the  conduct  of  Celeron  de  Bienville  in  the  previous 
year,  and  the  mysterious  plates  which  he  had  nailed  against 
trees  and  sunk  in  the  ground.  "  If  the  French  claim  the 
rivers  which  run  into  the  lakes,"  said  they,  "  those  which  run 
into  the  Ohio  belong  to  us  and  to  our  brothers  the  English." 
And  they  were  anxious  that  Gist  should  settle  among  them, 
and  build  a  fort  for  their  mutual  defense. 

A  council  of  the  nation  was  now  held,  in  which  Gist  invited 
them,  in  the  name  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  to  visit  that 
province,  where  a  large  present  of  goods  awaited  them,  sent  by 
their  father,  the  great  king,  over  the  water  to  his  Ohio  children. 


34  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  invitation  was  graciously  received,  but  no  answer  could  he 
given  until  a  grand  council  of  the  western  tribes  had  been  held, 
which  was  to  take  place  at  Logstown  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

Similar  results  attended  visits  made  by  Gist  and  Croghan 
to  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawnees  at  their  villages  about  the 
Scioto  Biver ;  all  promised  to  be  at  the  gathering  at  Logstown. 
From  the  Shawnee  village,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  the 
two  emissaries  shaped  their  course  north  two  hundred  miles, 
crossed  the  Great  Moneami,  or  Miami  River,  on  a  raft,  swim- 
ming their  horses  ;  and  on  the  17th  of  February  arrived  at  the 
Indian  town  of  Piqua. 

These  journeyings  had  carried  Gist  about  a  wide  extent  of 
country  beyond  the  Ohio.  It  was  rich  and  level,  watered  with 
streams  and  rivulets,  and  clad  with  noble  forests  of  hickory, 
walnut,  ash,  poplar,  sugar-maple,  and  wild  cherry  trees.  Oc- 
"casionally  there  were  spacious  plains  covered  with  wild  rye  ; 
natural  meadows,  with  blue  grass  and  clover ;  and  buffaloes, 
thirty  and  forty  at  a  time,  grazing  on  them  as  in  a  cultivated 
pasture.  Deer,  elk,  and  wild  turkeys  abounded.  "Nothing 
is  wanted  but  cultivation,"  said  Gist,  "to  make  this  a  most 
delightful  country."  Cultivation  has  since  proved  the  truth  of 
his  words.  The  country  thus  described  is  the  present  State  of 
Ohio. 

Piqua,  where  Gist  and  Croghan  had  arrived,  was  the  princi- 
pal town  of  the  Twightwees  or  Miamis  ;  the  most  powerful 
confederacy  of  the  West,  combining  four  tribes,  and  extending 
its  influence  even  beyond  the  Mississippi.  A  king  or  sachem 
of  one  or  other  of  the  different  tribes  presided  over  the  whole. 
The  head  chief  at  present  was  the  king  of  the  Piankeshas. 

At  this  town  Croghan  formed  a  treaty  of  alliance  in  the  name 
of  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  with  two  of  the  Miami  tribes. 
And  Gist  was  promised  by  the  king  of  the  Piankeshas  that  the 
chiefs  of  the  various  tribes  would  attend  the  meeting  at  Logs- 
town  to  make  a  treaty  with  Virginia. 

In  the  height  of  these  demonstrations  of  friendship,  two 
Ottawas  entered  the  council-house,  announcing  themselves  as 
envoys  from  the  French  Governor  of  Canada  to  seek  a  renewal 
of  ancient  alliance.  They  were  received  with  all  due  cere- 
monial ;  for  none  are  more  ceremonious  than  the  Indians.  The 
French  colors  were  set  up  beside  the  English,  and  the  ambas- 
sadors opened  their  mission.  "  Your  father,  the  French  king," 
said  they,  "remembering  his  children  on  the  Ohio,  has  sent 
them  these  two  kegs  of  milk," — here  with  great  solemnity, 
they  deposited  two  kegs  of  brandy, — "and  this  tobacco" — here 
they  deposited  a  roll  ten  pounds  in  weight.     "He  has  made  a 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON:  35 

clean  road  for  you  to  come  and  see  him  and  his  officers ;  and 
urges  you  to  come,  assuring  you  that  all  past  differences  will 
be  forgotten/' 

The  Piankesha  chief  replied  in  the  same  figurative  style. 
"  It  is  true  our  father  has  sent  for  us  several  times,  and  has 
said  the  road  was  clear ;  hut  I  understand  it  is  not  clear — it  is 
foul  and  bloody,  and  the  French  have  made  it  so.  We  have 
cleared  a  road  for  our  brothers,  the  English  ;  the  French  have 
made  it  bad,  and  have  taken  some  of  our  brothers  prisoners. 
This  we  consider  as  done  to  ourselves."  So  saying,  he  turned 
his  back  upon  the  ambassadors,  and  stalked  out  of  the  council- 
house. 

In  the  end  the  ambassadors  were  assured  that  the  tribes  of 
the  Ohio  and  the  Six  Nations  were  hand  in  hand  with  their 
brothers,  the  English ;  and  should  war  ensue  with  the  French, 
they  were  ready  to  meet  it. 

So  the  French  colors  were  taken  down  ;  the  "  kegs  of  milk  " 
and  roll  of  tobacco  were  rejected;  the  grand  council  broke  up 
with  a  war  dance,  and  the  ambassadors  departed,  weeping  and 
howling,  and  predicting  ruin  to  the  Miamis. 

When  Gist  returned  to  the  Shawnee  town,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto,  and  reported  to  his  Indian  friends  there  the  alli- 
ance he  had  formed  with  the  Miami  confederacy,  there  was 
great  feasting  and  speech-making,  and  firing  of  guns.  He  had 
now  happily  accomplished  the  chief  object  of  his  mission — 
nothing  remained  but  to  descend  the  Ohio  to  the  Great  Falls. 
This,  however,  he  was  cautioned  not  to  do.  A  large  party  of 
Indians,  allies  of  the  French,  were  hunting  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, who  might  kill  or  capture  him.  He  crossed  the  river,  at- 
tended only  by  a  lad  as  a  travelling  companion  and  aid,  and 
proceeded  cautiously  down  the  east  side  until  within  fifteen 
miles  of  the  Falls.  Here  he  came  upon  traps  newly  set,  and 
Indian  footprints  not  a  day  old,  and  heard  the  distant  report  of 
guns.  The  story  of  Indian  hunters  then  was  true.  He  was  in  a 
dangerous  neighborhood.  The  savages  might  come  upon  the 
tracks  of  his  horses,  or  hear  the  bells  put  about  their  necks, 
when  turned  loose  in  the  wilderness  to  graze. 

Abandoning  all  idea,  therefore,  of  visiting  the  Falls,  and  con- 
tenting himself  with  the  information  concerning  them  which 
he  had  received  from  others,  he  shaped  his  course  on  the  18th 
of  March  for  the  Cuttawa,  or  Kentucky  Kiver.  From  the  top 
of  a  mountain  in  the  vicinity  he  had  a  view  to  the  southwest 
.as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  over  a  vast  woodland  country  in 
the  fresh  garniture  of  spring,  and  watered  by  abundant  streams; 
but  as  yet  only  the  hunting-ground  of  savage  tribes,  and  the 


36  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

scene  of  their  sanguinax}^  combats.  In  a  word,  Kentucky  lay 
spread  out  before  him  in  all  its  wild  magnificence,  long  before 
it  was  beheld  by  Daniel  Boone. 

For  six  weeks  was  this  hardy  pioneer  making  his  toilful  way 
up  the  valley  of  the  Cuttawa,  or  Kentucky  E-iver,  to  the  banks 
of  the  Blue  Stone ;  often  checked  by  precij)ices,  and  obliged  to 
seek  fords  at  the  heads  of  tributary  streams  ;  and  happy  when 
he  could  find  a  buffalo  path  broken  through  the  tangled  forests, 
or  worn  into  the  everlasting  rocks. 

On  the  1st  of  May  he  climbed  a  rock  sixty  feet  high,  crown- 
ing a  lofty  mountain,  and  had  a  distant  view  of  the  Great 
Kanawha,  breaking  its  way  through  a  vast  sierra  ;  crossing  that 
river  on  a  raft  of  his  own  construction,  he  had  many  more 
weary  days  before  him,  before  he  reached  his  frontier  abode  on 
the  banks  of  the  Yadkin.  He  arrived  there  in  the  latter  part 
of  May,  but  there  was  no  one  to  welcome  the  wanderer  home. 
There  had  been  an  Indian  massacre  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
he  found  his  house  silent  and  deserted.  His  heart  sank  within 
him,  until  an  old  man  whom  he  met  near  the  place  assured 
him  his  family  were  safe,  having  fled  for  refuge  to  a  settle- 
ment thirty-five  miles  off,  on  the  banks  of  the  Koanoke.  There 
he  rejoined  them  on  the  following  day. 

While  Gist  had  been  making  his  painful  way  homeward, 
the  two  Ottawa  ambassadors  had  returned  to  Fort  Sandusky, 
bringing  word  to  the  French  that  their  flag  had  been  struck  in 
the  council-house  at  Piqua,  and  their  friendship  rejected  and 
their  hostility  defied  by  the  Miamis.  They  informed  them 
also  of  the  gathering  of  the  western  tribes  that  was  to  take 
place  at  Logstown,  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  Virginians. 

It  was  a  great  object  with  the  French  to  prevent  this  treaty, 
and  to  spirit  up  the  Ohio  Indians  against  the  English.  This 
they  hoped  to  effect  through  the  agency  of  one  Captain  Joncaire, 
a  veteran  diplomatist  of  the  wilderness,  whose  character  and 
story  deserve  a  passing  notice. 

He  had  been  taken  prisoner  when  quite  young  by  the  Iroquois, 
and  adopted  into  one  of  their  tribes.  This  was  the  making  of 
his  fortune.  He  had  grown  up  among  them,  acquired  their 
language,  adapted  himself  to  their  habits,  and  was  considered 
by  them  as  one  of  themselves.  On  returning  to  civilized  life 
he  became  a  prime  instrument,  in  the  hands  of  the  Canadian 
government,  for  managing  and  cajoling  the  Indians.  Some- 
times he  was  an  ambassador  to  the  Iroquois  ;  sometimes  a 
mediator  between  the  jarring  tribes  ;  sometimes  a  leader  of 
their  warriors  when  employed  by  the  French.  When  in  1728 
the  Delawares  and  Shawnees  migrated  to  the   banks  of  the 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  37 

Ohio,  Joncaire  was  the  agent  who  followed  them,  and  prevailed 
on  them  to  consider  themselves  under  French  protection.  When 
the  French  wanted  to  get  a  commanding  site  for  a  post  on  the 
Iroquois  lands,  near  Niagara,  Joncaire  was  the  man  to  manage 
it.  He  craved  a  situation  where  he  might  put  up  a  wigwam, 
and  dwell  among  his  Iroquois  brethren.  It  was  granted,  of 
course,  "  for  was  he  not  a  son  of  the  tribe — was  he  not  one  of 
themselves  ?  "  By  degrees  his  wigwam  grew  into  an  important 
trading  post :  ultimately  it  became  Fort  Niagara.  Years  and 
years  had  elapsed ;  he  had  grown  gray  in  Indian  diplomacy,  and 
was  now  sent  once  more  to  maintain  French  sovereignty  over 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

He  appeared  at  Logstown  accompanied  by  another  French- 
man, and  forty  Iroquois  warriors.  He  found  an  assemblage  of 
the  western  tribes,  feasting  and  rejoicing,  and  firing  of  guns, 
for  George  Croghan  and  Montour  the  interpreter  were  there, 
and  had  been  distributing  presents  on  behalf  of  the  Governor 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Joncaire  was  said  to  have  the  wit  of  a  Frenchman  and  the 
eloquence  of  an  Iroquois.  He  made  an  animated  speech  to 
the  chiefs  in  their  own  tongue,  the  gist  of  which  was  that 
their  father  Onontio  (that  is  to  say,  the  Governor  of  Canada) 
desired  his  children  of  the  Ohio  to  turn  away  the  Indian 
traders,  and  never  to  deal  with  them  again  on  pain  of  his  dis- 
pleasure ;  so  saying,  he  laid  down  a  wampum  belt  of  uncommon 
size,  by  way  of  emphasis  to  his  message. 

For  once  his  eloquence  was  of  no  avail ;  a  chief  rose  indig- 
nantly, shook  his  finger  in  his  face,  and  stamping  on  the 
ground,  "  This  is  our  land,"  said  he.  "  What  right  has 
Onontio  here  ?  The  English  are  our  brothers.  They  shall  live 
among  us  as  long  as  one  of  us  is  alive.  We  will  trade  with 
them  and  not  with  you  : "  and  so  saying  he  rejected  the  belt  of 
wampum. 

Joncaire  returned  to  an  advanced  post  recently  established 
on  the  upper  part  of  the  river,  whence  he  wrote  to  the  Governor 
of  Pennsylvania  :  "  The  Marquis  de  la  Jonquiere,  Governor 
of  New  France,  having  ordered  me  to  watch  that  the  English 
make  no  treaty  in  the  Ohio  country,  I  have  signified  to  the 
traders  of  your  government  to  retire.  You  are  not  ignorant  that 
all  these  lands  belong  to  the  King  of  France,  and  that  the 
English  have  no  right  to  trade  in  them."  He  concluded  by 
■  reiterating  the  threat  made  two  years  previously  by  feleron 
de  Bienville  against  all  intruding  fur  traders. 

In  the  meantime,  in  the  face  of  all  these  protests  and  men- 
aces, Mr.   Gist^  under  sanction  of  the  Virginia  Legislature, 


38  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

proceeded  in  the  same  year  to  survey  the  lands  within  the  grant 
of  the  Ohio  Company,  lying  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ohio 
River,  as  far  down  as  the  Great  Kanawha.  An  old  Delaware 
sachem,  meeting  him  while  thus  employed,  propounded  a 
somewhat  puzzling  question.  "  The  French,"  said  he,  "  claim 
all  the  land  on  one  side  of  the  Ohio,  the  English  claim  all  the 
land  on  the  other  side — now  where  does  the  Indians'  land  lie  ?  " 
Poor  savages  !  Between  their  "  fathers,"  the  French,  and 
their  "  brothers,"  the  English,  they  were  in  a  fair  way  of  being 
most  lovingly  shared  out  of  the  whole  country. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PKEPARATIONS      TOR    HOSTILITIES. WASHINGTON    APPOINTED 

DISTRICT     ADJUTANT-GENERAL. MOUNT    VERNON     A  SCHOOL 

OF  ARMS.— AD JUTANT  MUSE,  A  VETERAN  CAMPAIGNER.— JACOB 
VAN  BRAAM,  THE  MASTER  OF  FENCE. ILL  HEALTH  OF  WASH- 
INGTON'S BROTHER    LAWRENCE. VOYAGE    WITH  HIM  TO  THE 

WEST    INDIES. SCENES  AT    BARBADOES. TROPICAL    FRUITS. 

BEEFSTEAK  AND  TRIPE  CLUB. RETURN  HOME  OF  WASH- 
INGTON.  DEATH  OF   LAWRENCE. 

The  French  prepared  for  hostile  contingencies.  They 
launched  an  armed  vessel  of  unusual  size  on  Lake  Ontario, 
fortified  their  trading  house  at  Niagara,  strengthened  their 
outposts,  and  advanced  others  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Ohio. 
A  stir  of  warlike  preparations  was  likewise  to  be  observed 
among  the  British  colonies.  It  was  evident  that  the  adverse 
claims  to  the  disputed  territories,  if  pushed  home,  could  only 
be  settled  by  the  stern  arbitrament  of  the  sword. 

In  Virginia,  especially,  the  war  spirit  was  manifest.  The 
province  was  divided  into  military  districts,  each  having  an 
adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and  the  pay  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  year,  whose  duty  was  to  attend  to 
the  organization  and  equipment  of  the  militia. 

Such  an  appointment  was  sought  by  Lawrence  Washington 
for  his  brother  George.  It  shows  what  must  have  been  the 
maturity  of  mind  of  the  latter,  and  the  confidence  inspired  by 
his  judicious  conduct  and  aptness  for  business,  that  the  post 
should  not  only  be  sought  for  him,  but  readily  obtained,  though 
he  was  yet  but  nineteen  years  of  age.  He  proved  himself 
worthy  of  the  appointment. 

He  now  set  about  preparing  himself,  with  his  usual  metlio4 


LIFE  OF  WASSINGTOK.  39 

and  assicliiit}^,  for  his  new  duties.  Virginia  Lad  among  its 
floating  population  some  military  relics  of  the  late  Spanish  war. 
Among  these  was  a  certain  Adjutant  Muse,  a  Westmoreland 
volunteer,  who  had  served  with  Lawrence  Washington  in  the 
campaigns  in  the  West  Indies,  and  had  been  with  him  in  the 
attack  on  Carthagena.  He  now  undertook  to  instruct  his 
brother  George  in  the  art  of  war,  lent  him  treatises  on  military 
tactics,  put  him  through  the  manual  exercise,  and  gave  him 
some  idea  of  evolutions  in  the  field.  .  Another  of  Lawrence's 
campaigning  comrades  was  Jacob  Van  Braam,  a  Dutchman  by 
birth,  a  soldier  of  fortune  of  the  Dalgetty  order  ;  who  had  been 
in  the  British  army,  but  was  now  out  of  service,  and,  professing 
to  be  a  complete  master  of  fence,  recruit^  his  slender  purse  in 
this  time  of  military  excitement,  by  giving  the  Virginian  youth 
lessons  in  the  sword  exercise. 

Under  the  instructions  of  these  veterans.  Mount  Vernon, 
from  being  a  quiet  rural  retreat,  where  Washington,  three  years 
previously,  had  indited  love  ditties  to  his  "lowland  beauty," 
was  suddenly  transformed  into  a  school  of  arms,  as  he  practiced 
the  manual  exercise  with  Adjutant  Muse,  or  took  lessons  on 
the  broadsword  from  Van  Braam. 

His  martial  studies,  however,  were  interrupted  for  a  time  by 
the  critical  state  of  his  brother's  health.  The  constitution  of 
Lawrence  had  always  been  delicate,  and  he  had  been  obliged 
repeatedly  to  travel  for  a  change  of  air.  There  were  now  pul- 
monary sj^mptoms  of  a  threatening  nature,  and  by  advice  of  his 
physicians  he  determined  to  pass  a  winter  in  the  West  Indies, 
taking  with  him  his  favorite  brother  George  as  a  companion. 

They  accordingly  sailed  for  Barbadoes  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1751.  George  kept  a  journal  of  the  voyage  with  log- 
book brevity ;  recording  the  wind  and  weather,  but  no  events 
worth  citation.  They  landed  at  Barbadoes  on  the  3d  of  N"ovem- 
ber.  The  resident  physician  of  the  place  gave  a  favorable  re- 
port of  Lawrence's  case,  and  held  out  hopes  of  a  cure.  The 
brothers  were  delighted  with  the  aspect  of  the  country,  as  they 
drove  out  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  and  beheld  on  all  sides 
fields  of  sugar  cane  and  Indian  corn  and  groves  of  tropical  trees, 
in  full  fruit  and  foliage. 

They  took  up  their  abode  at  a  house  pleasantly  situated  about 
a  mile  from  town,  commanding  an  extensive  prospect  of  sea  and 
land,  including  Carlyle  Bay  and  its  shipping,  and  belonging  to 
Captain  Crofton,  commander  of  James  Fort. 

Barbadoes  had  its  theatre,  at  which  Washington  witnessed 
for  the  first  time  a  dramatic  representation,  a  species  of  amuse- 


40  LIFE  OF  WASTItNGTON. 

ment  of  which  he  afterwards  became  fond.  It  was  in  the 
present  instance  the  doleful  tragedy  of  George  Barnwell.  "  The 
character  of  Barnwell,  and  several  others,"  notes  he  in  his 
journal,  "were  said  to  be  well  performed.  There  was  music 
adapted  and  regularly  conducted."  A  safe  but  abstemious  crit- 
'icism. 

Among  the  hospitalities  of  the  place  the  brothers  were  invited 
to  the  house  of  a  Judge  Maynards,  to  dine  w4th  an  association 
of  the  first  people  of  the  place,  who  met  at  each  other's  house 
alternately  every  Saturday,  under  the  incontestably  English 
title  of  '•  The  Beefsteak  and  Tripe  Club."  Washington  notes 
with  admiration  the  profusion  of  tropical  fruits  with  which  the 
table  was  loaded,  "  the  granadilla,  sapadella,  pomegranate, 
sweet  orange,  water-lemon,  forbidden  fruit,  and  guava."  The 
homely  prosaic  beefsteak  and  tripe  must  have  contrasted 
strangely,  though  sturdily,  with  these  magnificent  poetical 
fruits  of  the  tropics.  But  John  Bull  is  faithful  to  his  native 
habits  and  native  dishes,  whatever  may  be  the  country  or  clime, 
and  would  set  up  a  chop-house  at  the  very  gates  of  paradise. 

The  brothers  had  scarcely  been  a  fortnight  at  the  island  when 
George  was  taken  down  by  a  severe  attack  of  small-pox.  Skill- 
ful medical  treatment,  with  the  kind  attentions  of  friends,  and 
especially  of  his  brother  restored  him  to  health  in  about  three 
weeks  ;  but  his  face  always  remained  slightly  marked. 

After  his  recovery  he  made  excursions  about  the  island, 
noticing  its  soil,  productions,  fortifications,  public  works,  and 
the  manners  of  its  inhabitants.  While  admiring  the  productive- 
ness of  the  sugar  plantations,  he  was  shocked  at  the  spend- 
thrift habits  of  the  planters,  and  their  utter  want  of  manage- 
ment. 

"  How  wonderful,"  writes  he,  "  that  such  people  should  be  in 
debt,  and  not  be  able  to  indulge  themselves  in  all  the  luxuries, 
as  well  as  the  necessaries  of  life.  Yet  so  it  happens.  Estates 
are  often  alienated  for  debts.  How  persons  coming  to  estates 
of  two,  three,  and  four  hundred  acres  can  want,  is  to  me  most 
wonderful."  How  much  does  this  wonder  speak  for  his  own 
scrupulous  principle  of  always  living  within  compass. 

The  residence  at  Barbadoes  failed  to  have  the  anticipated 
effect  on  the  health  of  Lawrence,  and  he  determined  to  seek  the 
sweet  climate  of  Bermuda  in  the  spring.  He  felt  the  absence 
from  his  wife,  and  it  was  arranged  that  George  should  return 
to  Virginia,  and  bring  her  out  to  meet  him  at  that  island. 
Accordingly,  on  the  22d  of  December,  George  set  sail  in  the 
Industry,  bound  to  Virginia,  where  he  arrived  on  the  1st  of 
Tebruary,  1752,  after  five  weeks  of  stormy  winter  seafaring. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  ^\ 

Lawrence  remained  through,  the  winter  at  Barbadoes ;  but 
the  very  mildness  of  the  climate  relaxed  and  enervated  him. 
He  felt  the  want  of  the  bracing  winter  weather  to  which 
he  had  been  accustomed.  Even  the  invariable  beauty  of 
the  climate,  the  perpetual  summer,  wearied  the  restless  invalid. 
"This  is  the  finest  island  of  the  West  Indies,"  said  he  ;  "but 
I  own  no  place  can  please  me  without  a  change  of  seasons.  We 
soon  tire  of  the  same  prospect."  A  consolatory  truth  for  the 
inhabitants  of  more  capricious  climes. 

Still  some  of  the  worst  symptoms  of  his  disorder  had  disap- 
peared, and  he  seemed  to  be  slowly  recovering  ;  but  the  nervous 
restlessness  and  desire  of  change,  oftenincidental  to  his  malady, 
had  taken  hold  of  him,  and  early  in  March  he  hastened  to  Ber- 
muda. He  had  come  too  soon.  The  keen  air  of  early  spring 
brought  on  an  aggravated  return  of  his  worst  symptoms.  "I 
have  now  got  to  my  last  refuge,"  writes  he  to  a  friend,  "  where 
I  must  receive  my  final  sentence,  which  at  present  Dr.  Forbes 
will  not  pronounce.  He  leaves  me,  however,  I  think,  like  a 
criminal  condemned,  though  not  without  hopes  of  reprieve.  But 
this  I  am  to  obtain  by  meritoriously  abstaining  from  flesh  of 
every  sort,  and  all  strong  liquors,  and  by  riding  as  much  as  I 
can  bear.  These  are  the  only  terms  on  which  I  am  to  hope  for 
life." 

He  was  now  afilicted  with  painful  indecision,  and  his  letters 
perplexed  his  family,  leaving  them  uncertain  as  to  his  move- 
ments, and  at  a  loss  how  to  act.  At  one  time  he  talked  of  re- 
maining a  year  at  Bermuda,  and  wrote  to  his  wife  to  come  out 
with  George  and  rejoin  him  there  ;  but  the  very  same  letter 
shows  his  irresolution  and  uncertainty,  for  he  leaves  her  com- 
ing to  the  decision  of  herself  and  friends.  As  to  his  own  move- 
ments, he  says,  "  Six  weeks  will  determine  me  what  to  resolve 
on.  Forbes  advises  the  south  of  France,  or  else  Barbadoes." 
The  very  next  letter,  written  shortly  afterwards  in  a  moment 
of  despondency,  talks  of  the  possibility  of  "  hurrying  home  to 
his  grave ! " 

The  last  was  no  empty  foreboding.  He  did  indeed  hasten 
back,  and  just  reached  Mount  Vernon  in  time  to  die  under  his 
own  roof,  surrounded  by  his  family  and  friends,  and  attended 
in  his  last  moments  by  that  brother  on  whose  manly  affection 
his  heart  seemed  to  repose.  His  death  took  place  on  the  26th 
July,  1752,  when  but  thirty-four  years  of  age.  He  was  a  noble- 
spirited,  pnre-minded,  accomplished  gentleman ;  honored  by 
the  public,  and  beloved  by  his  friends.  The  paternal  care  ever 
manifested  by  him  for  his  youthful  brother,  George,  and  the 
influence  his  own  character  and  conduct  must  have  had  upon 


42  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

liim  in  his  ductile  years,  should  link  their  memories  together  in 
history,  and  endear  the  name  of  Lawrence  Washington  to  every 
American. 

Lawrence  left  a  wife  and  an  infant  daughter  to  inherit  his 
ample  estates.  In  case  his  daughter  should  die  without  issue, 
the  estate  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  other  lands  specified  in  his 
will,  were  to  be  enjoyed  by  her  mother  during  her  lifetime,  and 
at  her  death  to  be  inherited  by  his  brother  George.  The  latter 
was  appointed  one  of  the  executors  of  the  will ;  but  such  was 
the  implicit  confidence  reposed  in  his  judgment  and  integrity, 
that,  although  he  was  but  twenty  years  of  age,  the  management 
of  the  affairs  of  the  deceased  was  soon  devolved  upon  him  almost 
entirely.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  were  managed  with 
consummate  skill  and  scrupulous  fidelity. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

COUNCIL  OF  THE    OHIO  TRIBES    AT    LOGSTOWN. TREATY    WITH 

THE  ENGLISH. GIST'S  SETTLEMENT. SPEECHES  OF  THE  HALF- 
KING  AND  THE  FRENCH  COMMANDANT. FRENCH  AGGRES- 
SIONS.  THE     RUINS    OF    PIQUA. WASHINGTON     SENT    ON    A 

MISSION  TO  THE  FRENCH  COMMANDER. JACOB   VAN  BRAAM, 

HIS    INTERPRETER. CHRISTOPHER    GIST,  HIS    GUIDE. HALT 

AT  THE  CONFLUENCE  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA  AND  ALLE- 
GHANY.  PROJECTED  FORT. SHINGISS,  A  DELAWARE  SACHEM. 

LOGSTOWN. THE  HALF-KING. INDIAN  COUNCILS. IN- 
DIAN DIPLOMACY. RUMORS  CONCERNING  JONCAIRE. IN- 
DIAN   ESCORTS. THE    HALF-KING,     JESKAKAKE,  AND    WHITE 

THUNDER. 

The  meeting  of  the  Ohio  tribes,  Delawares,  Shawnees,  and 
Mingoes,  to  form  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  Virginia,  took  place 
at  Logstown,  at  the  appointed  time.  The  chiefs  of  the  Six 
Nations  declined  to  attend.  '^  It  is  not  our, custom,"  said  they 
proudly,  "  To  meet  to  treat  of  affairs  in  the  woods  and  weeds. 
If  the  Governor  of  Virginia  wants  to  speak  with  us,  and  de- 
liver us  a  present  from  our  father  (the  king),  we  will  meet  him 
at  Albany,  where  we  expect  the  Governor  of  New  York  will  be 
present."  * 

At  Logstown,  Colonel  Fry  and  two  other  commissioners  from 
Virginia  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  tribes  above  named,  by 
which  the  latter  engaged  not  to  molest   any  English  settlers 

*  Letter  of  Col.  Johnson  to  Gov.  Clinton,  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  ii.  624. 


LTFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  43 

soutli  of  the  Ohio.  Tanacharisson,  the  half-king,  now  advised 
that  his  brothers  of  Virginia  should  build  a  strong  house  at  the 
forks  of  the  Monongahela,  to  resist  the  designs  of  the  French. 
Mr.  Gist  was  accordingly  instructed  to  layout  a  town  and  build 
a  fort  at  Chartier's  Creek,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ohio,  a  little 
below  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Pittsburg.  He  commenced 
a  settlement,  also,  in  a  valley  just  beyond  Laurel  Hill,  not  far 
from  the  Youghiogheny,  and  prevailed  on  eleven  families  to 
join  him.  The  Ohio  Company,  about  the  same  time,  established 
a  trading-post,  well-stocked  with  English  goods,  at  Wills' 
Creek  (now  the  town  of  Cumberland.) 

The  Ohio  tribes  were  greatl}^  incensed  at  the  aggressions  of 
the  French,  who  were  erecting  posts  within '  their  territories, 
and  sent  deputations  to  remonstrate,  but  without  effect.  The 
half-king,  as  chief  of  the  western  tribes,  repaired. to  the  French 
post  on  Lake  Erie,  where  he  made  his  complaint  in  person. 

"  Fathers,"  said  he,  "  jow.  are  the  disturbers  of  this  land  by 
building  towns,  and  taking  the  country  from  us  by  fraud  and 
force.  We  kindled  a  fire  a  long  time  ago  at  Montreal,  where 
we  desired  you  to  stay  and  not  to  come  and  intrude  upon  our 
land.  I  now  advise  you  to  return  to  that  place,  for  this  land 
is  ours. 

"  If  you  had  come  in  a  peaceful  manner,  like  our  brothers 
the  English,  we  should  have  traded  with  you  as  we  do  with 
them ;  but  that  you  should  come  and  build  houses  on  our  land, 
and  take  it  by  force,  is  what  we  cannot  submit  to.  Both  you 
and  the  English  are  white.  We  live  in  a  countrj^  between  you 
both ;  the  land  belongs  to  neither  of  you.  The  Great  Being 
allotted  it  to  us  as  a  residence.  So,  fathers,  I  desire  you,  as  I 
have  desired  our  brothers  the  English,  to  withdraw,  for  I  will 
keep  you  both  at  arm's  length.  Whichever  most  regards  this 
request,  that  side  will  we  stand  by  and  consider  friends.  Our 
brothers  the  English,  have  heard  these,  and  I  now  come  to  tell 
it  to  you,  for  I  am  not  afraid  to  order  you  off  this  land." 

"  Child,"  replied  the  French  commandant,  ^^  you  talk  foolishly. 
You  say  this  land  belongs  to  you  ;  there  is  not  the  black  of 
my  nail  yours.  It  is  my  land,  and  I  will  have  it,  let  who  will 
stand  up  against  me.  I  am  not  afraid  of  flies  and  mosquitoes, 
for  as  such  I  consider  the  Indians.  I  tell  you  that  down  the 
river  I  will  go,  and  build  upon  it.  If  it  were  blocked  up  I  have 
forces  sufficient  to  burst  it  open  and  trample  down  all  who 
oppose  me.  My  force  is  as  the  sand  upon  the  sea-shore. 
Therefore  here  is  joux  wampum ;  I  fling  it  at  you." 

Tanacharisson  returned,  wounded  at  heart,  both  by  the 
language  and  the  haughty  manner  of  the  French  commandant. 


44  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

He  saw  the  ruin  impending  over  his  race,  but  looked  with  hope 
and  trust  to  the  English  as  the  power  least  disposed  to  wrong 
the  red  man. 

French  influence  was  successful  in  other  quarters.  Some  of 
the  Indians  who  had  been  friendly  to  the  English  showed  signs 
of  alienation.  Others  menaced  hostilities.  There  were  reports 
that  the  French  were  ascending  the  Mississippi  from  Louisiana. 
France,  it  was  said,  intended  to  connect  Louisiana  and  Canada 
by  a  chain  of  military  posts,  and  hem  the  English  within  the 
Alleghany  Mountains. 

The  Ohio  Company  complained  loudly  to  the  Lieutenant- 
governor  of  Virginia,  the  Hon.  Robert  Dinwiddle,  of  the  hostile 
conduct  of  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies.  They  found  in 
Dinwiddle  a  ready  listener  ;  he  was  a  stockholder  in  the  Com- 
pany. 

A  commissioner,  Captain  William  Trent,  was  sent  to  expost- 
ulate with  the  French  commander  on  the  Ohio  for  his  aggres- 
sions on  the  territory  of  His  Britannic  Majesty;  he  bore  pres- 
ents also  of  guns,  powder,  shot,  and  clothing  for  the  friendly 
Indians. 

Trent  was  not  a  man  of  the  true  spirit  for  a  mission  to  the 
frontier.  He  stopped  a  short  time  at  Logstown,  though  the 
French  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  further  up  the  river, 
and  directed  his  course  to  Piqua,  the  great  town  of  the  Twight- 
wees,  where  Gist  and  Croghan  had  been  so  well  received  by  the 
Miamis,  and  the  French  flag  struck  in  the  council-house.  All 
now  was  reversed.  The  place  had  been  attacked  by  the  French 
and  Indians ;  the  Miamis  defeated  with  great  loss  ;  the  Eng- 
lish traders  taken  prisoners ;  the  Piankesha  chief,  who  had  so 
proudly  turned  his  back  upon  the  Ottawa  ambassadors,  had 
been  sacrificed  by  the  hostile  savages,  and  the  French  flag 
hoisted  in  triumph  on  the  ruins  of  the  town.  The  whole 
aspect  of  affairs  was  so  threatening  on  the  frontier,  that  Trent 
lost  heart,  and  returned  home  without  accomplishing  his 
errand. 

Governor  Dinwiddle  now  looked  round  for  a  person  more 
fitted  to  fulfill  a  mission  which  required  physical  strength  and 
moral  energy,  a  courage  to  cope  with  savages,  and  a  sagacity  to 
negotiate  with  white  men.  Washington  w^as  pointed  out  as 
possessed  of  those  requisities.  It  is  true  he  was  not  yet 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  but  public  confidence  in  his  judgment 
and  abilities  had  been  manifested  a  second  time,  by  renewing 
his  appointment  of  adjutant-general,  and  assigning  him  the 
northern  division.  He  was  acquainted,  too,  with  the  matters 
in  litigation,  having  been  in  the  bosom  councils  of  his  deceased 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  45 

brother. "  His  woodland  experience  litted  him  for  an  expedi- 
tion through  the  wilderness,  and  his  great  discretion  and  self- 
command  for  a  negotiation  with  wily  commanders  and  fickle 
savages.     He  was  accordingly  chosen  for  the  expedition. 

By  his  letter  of  instructions  he  was  directed  to  repair  to 
Logstown,  and  hold  a  communication  with  Tanacharisson, 
Monacatoocha,  alias  Scarooyadi,  the  next  in  command,  and  the 
other  sachems  of  the  mixed  tribes  friendly  to  the  English,  in- 
form them  of  the  purport  of  his  errand,  and  request  an  escort 
to  the  head-quarters  of  the  French  commander.  To  that  com- 
mander he  was  to  deliver  his  credentials,  and .  the  letter  of 
Governor  Dinwiddie,  and  demand  an  answer  in  the  name  of 
His  Britannic  Majesty;  but  not  to  wait  for  it  beyond  a  week. 
On  receiving  it,  he  was  to  request  a  sufficient  escort  to  protect 
him  on  his  return. 

He  was,  moreover,  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  iiumbers  and 
force  of  the  French  stationed  on  the  Ohio  and  in  its  vicinity  ; 
their  capability  of  being  reinforced  from  Canada ;  the  forts  they 
had  erected;  where  situated,  how  garrisoned;  the  object  of 
their  advancing  into  those  parts,  and  how  they  were  likely  to 
be  supported. 

Washington  set  off  from  Williamsburg  on  the  30th  of  Octo- 
ber (1753),  the  very  day  on  which  he  received  his  credentials. 
At  Fredericksburg  he  engaged  his  old  "  master  of  fence,"  Jacob 
Van  Braam,  to  accompany  him  as  interpreter ;  though  it  would 
appear  from  subsequent  circumstances,  that  the  veteran  swords- 
man was  but  indifferently  versed  either  in  French  or  English. 

Having  provided  himself  at  Alexandria  with  necessaries  for 
the  journey,  he  proceeded  to  Winchester,  then  on  the  frontier, 
where  he  procured  horses,  tents,  and  other  travelling  equip- 
ments, and  then  pushed  on  by  a  road  newly  opened  to  Wills' 
Creek  (town  of  Cumberland),  where  he  arrived  on  the  14th  of 
November. 

Here  he  met  with  Mr.  Gist,  the  intrepid  pioneer,  who  had 
explored  the  Ohio  in  the  employ  of  the  Company,  and  whom 
he  engaged  to  accompany  and  pilot  him  in  the  present  expedi- 
tion. He  secured  the  services  also  of  one  John  Davidson  as 
Indian  interpreter,  and  of  four  frontiersmen,  two  of  whom  were 
Indian  traders.  With  this  little  band,  and  his  swordsman  and 
interpreter,  Jacob  Van  Braam,  he  set  forth  on  the  15th  of 
November,  through  a  wild  country  rendered  almost  impassable 
by  recent  storms  of  rain  and  snow. 

At  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  on  the  Monongahela,  he  found 
John  Frazier,  the  Indian  trader,  some  of  whose  people,  as  here- 
tofore stated,  had  been  sent  off  prisoners  to  Canada.     Frazier 


46  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOm 

himself  had  recently  been  ejected  by  the  French  from  the 
Indian  village  of  Venango,  where  he  had  a  gunsmith's  estab- 
lishment. According  to  his  account  the  French  general  who 
had  commanded  on  this  frontier  was  dead,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  forces  were  retired  into  winter  quarters. 

As  the  rivers  were  all  swollen  so  that  the  horses  had  to  swim 
them,  Washington  sent  all  the  baggage  down  the  Monongahela 
in  a  canoe  under  care  of  two  of  the  men,  who  had  orders  to 
meet  him  at  the  confluence  of  that  river  with  the  Alleghany, 
where  their  united  waters  form  the  Ohio. 

"As  I  got  down  before  the  canoe,"  writes  he  in  his  journal, 
"  I  spent  some  time  in  viewing  the  rivers,  and  the  land  at  the 
Fork,  which  I  think  extremely  well  situated  for  a  fort,  as  it  has 
the  absolute  command  of  both  rivers.  The  land  at  the  point  is 
twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  above  the  common  surface  of  the 
water,  and  a  considerable  bottom  of  fl'at,  well-timbered  land  all 
around  it,  very  convenient  for  building.  The  rivers  are  each  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  or  more  across,  and  run  here  very  nearly  at 
right  angles  ;  Alleghany  bearing  northeast,  and  Monongahela 
southeast.  The  former  of  these  two  is  a  very  rapid  and  swift- 
running  water,  the  other  deep  and  still,  without  any  perceptible 
fall."  The  Ohio  Company  had  intended  to  build  a  fort  about 
two  miles  from  this  place,  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  river ; 
but  Washington  gave  the  fork  the  decided  preference.  French 
engineers  of  experience  jjroved  the  accuracy  of  his  military  eye, 
b}'-  subsequently  choosing  it  for  the  site  of  Fort  Duquesne,  noted 
in  frontier  history. 

In  this  neighborhood  lived  Shingiss,  the  king  or  chief  sachem 
of  the  Delawares.  Washington  visited  him  at  his  village,  to 
invite  him  to  the  council  at  Logstown.  He  was  one  of  the 
greatest  warriors  of  his  tribe,  and  subsequently  took  up  the 
hatchet  at  various  times  against  the  English,  though  now  he 
seemed  favorably  disposed,  and  readily  accepted  the  invitation. 

They  arrived  at  Logstown  after  sunset  on  the  24th  of  ISTov- 
ember.  The  half-king  was  absent  at  his  hunting  lodge  on 
Beaver  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  distant ;  but  Washington  had 
runners  sent  out  to  invite  him  and  all  the  other  chiefs  to  a 
grand  talk  on  the  following  day. 

In  the  morning  four  French  deserters  came  into  the  village. 
They  had  deserted  from  a  company  of  one  hundred  men,  sent  up 
from  New  Orleans  with  eight  canoes  laden  with  provisions.  Wash- 
ington drew  from  them  an  account  of  the  French  force  at  New  Or- 
leans,  and  of  the  forts  along  the  Mississippi,  and  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Wabash,  by  which  they  kept  up  a  communication  with  the 
lakes  ;  all  which  he  carefully  noted  down.  The  deserters  were  on 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  47 

their  way  to  Philadelphia,  conducted  by  a  Pennsylvania  trader. 

About  three  o'clock  the  half-king  arrived.  Washington  had 
a  private  conversation  with  him  in  his  tent,  through  Davidson, 
the  interpreter.  He  found  him  intelligent,  patriotic,  and 
proudly  tenacious  of  his  territorial  rights.  •  We  have  already- 
cited  from  Washington's  papers,  the  account  given  by  this 
chief  in  this  conversation^  of  his  interview  with  the  late  French 
commander.  He  stated,  moreover,  that  the  French  had  built 
two  forts,  differing  in  size,  but  on  the  same  model,  a  plan  of 
which  he  gave,  of  his  own  drawing.  The  largest  was  on  Lake 
Erie,  the  other  on  French  Creek,  fifteen  miles  apart,  with  a 
wagon  road  between  them.  The  nearest  and  levelest  way  to 
them  was  now  impassable,  lying  through  large  and  miry  savan- 
nas ;  they  would  have,  therefore,  to  go  by  Venango,  and  it 
would  take  five  or  six  sleeps  (or  days)  of  good  travelling  to 
reach  the  nearest  fort. 

On  the  following  morning  at  nine  o'clock  the  chiefs  assembled 
in  the  council-house  ;  where  Washington,  according  to  his  in- 
structions, informed  them  that  he  was  sent  by  their  brother, 
the  Governor  of  Virginia,  to  deliver  to  the  French  commandant 
a  letter  of  great  importance,  both  to  their  brothers  the  English 
and  to  themselves  ;  and  that  he  was  to  ask  their  advice  and  as- 
sistance, and  some  of  their  young  men  to  accompany  and  pro- 
vide for  him  on  the  way,  and  be  his  safeguard  against  the 
"  French  Indians "  who  had  taken  up  the  hatchet.  He  con- 
cluded by  presenting  the  indispensable  document  in  Indian  di- 
plomacy, a  string  of  wampum. 

The  chiefs,  according  to  etiquette,  sat  for  some  moments 
silent  after  he  had  concluded,  as  if  ruminating  on  what  had 
been  said,  or  to  give  him  time  for  further  remark. 

The  half-king  then  rose  and  spoke  in  behalf  of  the  tribes, 
assuring  him  that  they  considered  the  English  and  themselves 
brothers,  and  one  people ;  and  that  they  intended  to  return  the 
French  the  "  speech-belts,"  or  wampums,  which  the  latter  had 
sent  them.  This,  in  Indian  diplomacy,  is  a  renunciation  of  all 
friendly  relations.  An  escort  would  be  furnished  to  Washing- 
ton composed  of  Mingoes,  Shannoahs,  and  Delawares,  in  token 
of  the  love  and  loyalty  of  those  several  tribes  ;  but  three  days 
would  be  required  to  prepare  for  the  journey. 

Washington  remonstrated  against  such  delay ;  but  was  in- 
formed that  an  affair  of  such  moment,  where  three  speech-belts 
were  to  be  given  up,  was  not  *to  be  entered  into  without  due 
consideration.  Besides,  the  young  men  who  were  to  form  the 
escort  were  absent  hunting,  and  the  half-king  could  not  suffer 
the  party  to  go  without  sufficient  protection.     His  own  French 


48  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

speech-belt,  also,  was  at  his  hunting  lodge,  whither  he  must  go 
in  quest  of  it.  Moreover,  the  Shannoah  chiefs  were  yet  absent 
and  must  be  waited  for.  In  short,  Washington  had  his  first 
lesson  in  Indian  diplomacy,  which  for  punctilio,  ceremonial, 
and  secret  maneuvering,  is  equal  at  least  to  that  of  civilized 
life.  He  soon  found  that  to  urge  a  more  speedy  departure 
would  be  offensive  to  Indian  dignity  and  decorum,  so  he  was 
fain  to  await  the  gathering  together  of  the  different  chiefs  with 
their  speech-belts. 

In  fact  there  was  some  reason  for  all  this  caution.  Tidings 
had  reached  the  sachems  that  Captain  Joncaire  had  called  a 
meeting  at  Venango,  of  the  Mingoes,  Delawares  and  other 
tribes,  and  made  them  a  speech,  informing  them  that  the 
French,  for  the  present,  had  gone  into  winter  quarters,  but 
intended  to  descend  the  river  in  great  force,  and  fight  the 
English  in  the  spring.  He  had  advised  them,  therefore,  to 
stand  aloof,  for  should  they  interfere,  the  French  and  English 
would  join,  cut  them  all  off,  and  divide  their  land  between 
them. 

With  these  rumors  preying  on  their  minds,  the  half-king 
and  three  other  chiefs  waited  on  Washington  in  his  tent  in  the 
evening,  and  after  representing  that  they  had  complied  with 
all  the  requisitions  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  endeavored  to 
draw  from  the  youthful  ambassador  the  true  purport  of  his 
mission  to  the  French  commandant.  Washington  had  antici- 
pated an  inquiry  of  the  kind,  knowing  how  natural  it  was  that 
these  poor  people  should  regard  with  anxiety  and  distrust 
every  movement  of  two  formidable  powers  thus  pressing  upon 
them  from  oppposite  sides ;  he  managed,  however,  to  answer 
them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  allay  their  solicitude  without 
transcending  the  bounds  of  diplomatic  secrecy. 

After  a  day  or  two  more  of  delay  and  further  consultations 
in  the  council  house,  the  chiefs  determined  that  but  three  of 
their  number  should  accompany  the  mission,  as  a  greater 
number  might  awaken  the  suspicions  of  the  French.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  30th  of  ]N"ovember  Washington  set  out  for  the 
French  post,  having  his  usual  party  augmented  by  an  Indian 
hunter,  and  being  accompanied  by  the  half-king,  an  old  Shan- 
noah sachem  named  Jeskakake,  and  another  chief,  called  some- 
times Belt  of  Wampum,  from  being  the  keeper  of  the  speech- 
belts,  but  generally  bearing  the  sounding  appellation  of  White 
Thunder. 


LIFE  OF  WAJSHIJ^GTON.  49 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A.RRIVAL  AT  VENANGO. CAPTAIN  JONCAIRE. FRONTIER  REV- 
ELRY.  DISCUSSIONS  OVER  THE  BOTTLE. THE  OLD  DIPLOMA- 
TIST    AND  THE     YOUNG. THE    HALF-KING,  JESKAKAKE,  AND 

WHITE  THUNDER    STAGGERED. THE  SPEECH-BELT.— DEPART- 
URE.  LA  FORCE,  THE  W-ILY  COMMISSARY. FORT  AT  FRENCH 

CREEK. THE  CHEVALIER  LEG ARDEURDE  ST.  PIERRE,  KNIGHT 

OF  ST.    LOUIS. CAPTAIN    REPARTI. TRANSACTIONS  AT    THE 

FORT. ATTEMPTS      TO      SEDUCE      THE     SACHEMS. MISCHIEF 

BREWING    ON  THE     FRONTIER. DIFFICULTIES     AND     DELAYS 

IN     PARTING. DESCENT    OF     FRENCH    CREEK. ARRIVAL    AT 

VENANGO. 

Although  the  distance  to  Venango,  by  the  route  taken,  was 
not  above  seventy  miles,  yet  such  was  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather  and  the  difficulty  of  travelling,  that  Washington  and 
his  party  did  not  arrive  there  until  the  4th  of  December.  The 
French  colors  were  flying  at  a  house  whence  John  Frazier,  the 
English  trader,  had  been  driven.  Washington  repaired  thither, 
and  inquired  of  three  French  officers  whom  he  saw  there  where 
the  commandant  resided.  One  of  them  promptly  replied  that 
he  "  had  the  command  of  the  Ohio."  It  was,  in  fact,  the  re- 
doubtable Captain  Joncaire,  the  veteran  intriguer  of  the  fron- 
tier. On  being  apprised,  however,  of  the  nature  of  Washing- 
ton's errand,  he  informed  him  that  there  was  a  general  officer 
at  the  next  fort,  where  he  advised  him  to  apply  for  an  answer 
to  the  letter  of  which  he  was  the  bearer. 

In  the  meantime,  he  invited  Washington  and  his  party  to  a 
supper  at  head-quarters.  It  proved  a  jovial  one,  for  Joncaire 
appears  to  have  been  somewhat  of  a  boon  companion,  and  there 
is  always  ready  though  rough  hospitality  in  t}\e  wilderness. 
It  is  true,  Washington,  for  so  young  a  man,  may  not  have  had 
the  most  convivial  air,  but  there  may  have  been  a  moist  look  of 
promise  in  the  old  soldier  Van  Braam. 

Joncaire  and  his  brother  officers  pushed  the  bottle  briskly. 
"The  wine,"  says  Washington,  "as  they  dosed  themselves 
pretty  plentifully  with  it,  soon  banished  the  restraint  which  at 
first  appeared  in  their  conversation,  and  gave  a  license  to  their 
tongues  to  reveal  their  sentiments  more  freely.  They  told  me 
that  it  was  their  absolute  design  to  take  possession  of  the  Ohio, 


50  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  by  G —  they  would  do  it ;  for  that  although  they  were  sen- 
sible the  English  could  raise  two  men  for  their  one,  yet  they 
knew  their  motions  were  too  slow  and  dilatory  to  prevent  any 
uiidertaking.  They  pretend  to  have  an  unbounded  right  to  the 
river  from  a  discovery  made  by  one  La  Salle  sixty  years  ago, 
and  the  rise  of  this  expedition  is  to  prevent  our  settling  on  the 
river  or  the  waters  of  it,  as  they  heard  of  some  families  moving 
out  in  order  thereto." 

Washington  retained  his  sobriety  and  his  composure  through 
out  all  the  rodomontade  and  bacchanalian  outbreak  of  the  mer- 
curial Frenchmen  ;  leaving  the  task  of  pledging  them  to  his 
master  of  fence,  Van  Braam,  who  was  not  a  man  to  flinch  from 
potations.  He  took  careful  note,  however,  of  all  their  revelations, 
and  collected  a  variety  of  information  concerning  the  Erench 
forces  ;  how  and  where  they  were  distributed ;  the  situations 
and  distances  of  their  forts,  and  their  means  and  mode  of  ob- 
taining supplies.  If  the  veteran  diplomatist  of  the  wilderness 
had  intended  this  revel  for  a  snare,  he  was  completely  foiled  by 
his  youthful  competitor. 

On  the  following  day  there  was  no  travelling  on  account  of 
excessive  rain.  Joncaire,  in  the  meantime,  having  discovered 
that  the  half-king  was  with  the  mission,  expressed  his  surprise 
that  he  had  not  accompanied  it  to  his  quarters,  on  the  preceding 
day.  Washington,  in  truth,  had  feared  to  trust  the  sachem 
within  the  reach  of  the  polite  Erenchman.  Nothing  would  do 
now  but  Joncaire  must  have  the  sachems  at  head-quarters. 
Here  his  diplomacy  was  triumphant.  He  received  them  with 
open  arms.  He  was  enraptured  to  see  them.  His  Indian 
brothers  !  How  could  they  be  so  near  without  coming  to  visit 
him  ?  He  made  them  presents  :  but,  above  all,  plied  them  so 
potently  with  liquor,  that  the  poor  half-king,  Jeskakake,  and 
White  Thunder  forgot  all  about  their  wrongs,  their  speeches, 
their  speech-belts,  and  all  the  business  they  had  come  upon  ; 
paid  no  heed  to  the  cautions  of  their  English  friends,  and  were 
soon  in  a  complete  state  of  frantic  extravagance  or  drunken 
oblivion. 

The  next  day  the  half-king  made  his  appearance  at  Washing- 
ton's tent,  perfectly  sober  and  very  much  crestfallen.  He  de- 
clared, however,  that  he  still  intended  to  make  his  speech  to 
the  Erench,  and  offered  to  rehearse  it  on  the  spot ;  but  Washing- 
ton advised  him  not  to  waste  his  ammunition  on  inferior  game 
like  Joncaire  and  his  comrades,  but  to  reserve  it  for  the  com- 
mandant. The  sachem  was  not  to  be  persuaded.  Here,  he 
said,  was  the  place  of  the  council-fire,  where  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  transact  their  business  with  the  Erenqhj  and  as  tQ 


LIFE  OF  WAsnmGfojsr.  51 

Joncalre,  lie  had  all  the  management  of  French  affairs  with 
the  Indians. 

Washington  was  fain  to  attend  the  council-fire  and  listen  to 
the  speech.  It  was  much  the  same  in  purport  as  that  which  he 
had  made  to  the  Trench  general,  and  he  ended  by  offering  to 
return  the  French  speech-belt ;  but  this  Joncaire  refused  to  re- 
ceive, telling  him  to  carry  it  to  the  commander  at  the  fort. 

All  that  day  and  the  next  was  the  party  kept  at  Venango  by 
the  stratagems  of  Joncaire  and  his  emissaries  to  detain  and  se- 
duce the  sachems.  It  was  not  until  12  o'clock  on  the  7tli  of 
December,  that  Washington  was  able  to  extricate  them  out  of 
their  clutches  and  commence  his  journey. 

A  French  commissary  by  the  name  of  La  Force,  and  three 
soldiers,  set  off  in  company  with  him.  La  Force  went  as  if  on 
ordinary  business,  but  he  proved  one  of  the  most  active,  daring, 
and  mischief-making  of  those  anomalous  agents  employed  by 
the  French  among  the  Indian  tribes.  It  is  probable  that  he 
was  at  the  bottom  of  many  of  the  perplexities  experienced  by 
Washington  at  Venango,  and  now  travelled  with  him  for  the 
prosecution  of  his  wiles.  He  will  be  found,  hereafter,  acting 
a  more  prominent  part,  and  ultimately  reaping  the  fruit  of  his 
evil  doings. 

After  four  days  of  weary  travel  through  snow  and  rain,  and 
mire  and  swamp,  the  party  reached  the  fort.  It  was  situated 
on  a  kind  of  island  on  the  west  fork  of  French  Creek,  about 
fifteen  miles  south  of  Lake  Erie,  and  consisted  of  four  houses, 
forming  a  hollow  square,  defended  by  bastions  made  of  palis- 
ades twelve  feet  high,  picketed,  and  pierced  for  cannon  and 
small  arms.  Within  the  bastions  were  a  guard-house,  chapel, 
and  other  buildings,  and  outside  were  stables,  a  smith's  forge, 
and  Jog-houses  covered  with  bark,  for  the  soldiers. 

On  the  death  of  the  late  general,  the  fort  had  remained  in 
charge  of  one  Captain  Heparti  until  within  a  week  past,  when 
the  Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre  had  arrived,  and  taken 
command. 

The  reception  of  Washington  at  the  fort  was  very  different 
from  the  unceremonious  one  experienced  at  the  outpost  of 
Joncaire  and  his  convivial  messmates.  When  he  presented 
himself  at  the  gate,  accompanied  by  his  interpreter.  Van  Braam 
he  was  met  by  the  officer  second  in  command  and  conducted 
in  due  military  form  to  his  superior,  an  ancient  and  silver-hair- 
ed chevalier  of  the  military  order  of  St.  Louis,  courteous  but 
ceremonious,  mingling  the  polish  of  the  French  gentleman  of 
the  old  school  with  the  j>recision  of  the  soldier. 

Having  announced  his  errand  through  his  interpreter,  Van 


52  ZIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

•Braam,  Wasliington  offered  liis  credentials  and  the  letter  of 
Governor  Dinwiddie,  and  was  disposed  to  proceed  at  once  to 
business  with  the  prompt  frankness  of  a  young  man  unhack- 
neyed in  diplomacy.  The  chevalier,  however,  politely  requested 
him  to  retain  the  documents  in  his  possession  until  his  prede- 
cessor. Captain  Reparti,  should  arrive,  who  was  hourly  expected 
from  the  next  post. 

At  two  o'clock  the  captain  arrived.  The  letter  and  its  ac- 
companying documents  were  then  offered  again,  and  received 
in  due  form,  and  the  chevalier  and  his  officers  retired  with 
them  into  a  private  apartment,  where  the  captain,  who  under- 
stood a  little  English,  officiated  as  a  translator.  The  transla- 
tion being  finished,  Washington  was  requested  to  walk  in  and 
bring  his  translator  Van  Braam,  with  him,  to  peruse  and  cor- 
rect it,  which  he  did. 

In  this  letter,  Dinwiddle  complained  of  the  intrusion  of 
French  forces  into  the  Ohio  country,  erecting  forts  and  making 
settlements  in  the  western  parts  of  the  colony  of  Virginia,  so 
notoriously  known  to  be  the  property  of  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain.  He  inquired  by  whose  authority  and  instructions  the 
French  Commander-general  had  marched  this  force  from  Canada, 
and  made  this  invasion ;  intimating  that  his  own  action  would 
be  regulated  by  the  answer  he  should  receive,  and  the  tenor  of 
the  commission  with  which  he  was  honored.  At  the  same  time 
he  required  of  the  commandant  his  peaceable  departure,  and 
that  he  would  forbear  to  prosecute  a  purpose  "  so  interruptive 
of  the  harmony  and  good  understanding  which  His  Majesty 
was  desirous  to  continue  and  cultivate  with  the  most  catholic 
king." 

The  latter  part  of  the  letter  related  to  the  youthful  envoy. 
"I  persuade  myself  you  will  receive  and  entertain  Major  Wash- 
ington with  the  candor  and  politeness  natural  to  your  nation, 
and  it  will  give  me  the  greatest  satisfaction  if  you  can  return 
him  with  an  answer  suitable  to  my  wishes  for  a  long  and  last- 
ing peace  between  us."  * 

The  two  following  days  were  consumed  in  councils  of  the 
chevalier  and  his  officers  over  the  letter  and  the  necessary  reply. 
Washington  occupied  himself  in  the  meantime  in  observing 
and  taking  notes  of  the  plan,  dimensions,  and  strength  of  the 
fort,  and  of  everything  about  it.  He  gave  orders  to  his  people, 
also,  to  take  an  exact  account  of  the  canoes  in  readiness,  and 
others  in  the  process  of  construction,  for  the  conveyance  of 
troops  down  the  river  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

As  the  weather  continued  stormy,  wnth  much  snow,  and  the 
horses  were  daily  losing  strength,  he  sent  them  down,  unladen 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  53 

to  Venango,  to  await  his  return  by  water.  In  the  meantime, 
he  discovered  that  busy  intrigues  were  going  on  to  induce  the 
half-king  and  the  other  sachems  to  abandon  him,  and  renounce 
all  friendship  with  the  English.  Upon  learning  this,  he  urged 
the  chiefs  to  deliver  up  their  "  speech-belts  "  immediate^,  as 
they  had  promised,  thereby  shaking  off  all  dependence  upon 
the  French.  They  accordingly  pressed  for  an  audience  that 
very  evening.  A  private  one  was  at  length  granted  them  by 
the  commander,  in  presence  of  one  or  two  of  his  officers.  The 
half-king  reported  the  result  of  it  to  Washington.  The  vener- 
able but  astute  chevalier  cautiously  evaded  the  acceptance  of 
the  proffered  wampum ;  made  many  professions  of  love  and 
friendship,  and  said  he  wished  to  live  in  peace  and  trade  amic- 
ably with  the  tribes  of  the  Ohio,  in  proof  of  which  he  would  send 
down  some  goods  immediately  for  them  to  Logstown. 

As  Washington  understood,  privately,  that  an  officer  was  to 
accompany  the  man  employed  to  convey  these  goods,  he  sus- 
pected that  the  real  design  was  to  arrest  and  bring  off  all 
straggling  English  traders  they  might  meet  Avith.  What 
strengthened  this  opinion  was  a  frank  avowal  which  had  been 
made  to  him  by  the  chevalier,  that  he  had  orders  to  capture 
every  British  subject  who  should  attempt  to  trade  upon  the 
Ohio  or  its  waters. 

Captain  Beparti,  also,  in  reply  to  his  inquiry  as  to  what  had 
been  done  with  two  Pennsylvania  traders,  who  had  been  taken 
with  all  their  goods,  informed  him  that  they  had  been  sent  to 
Canada,  but  had  since  returned  home.  He  had  stated,  further- 
more, that  during  the  time  he  held  command,  a  white  boy  had 
been  carried  captive  past  the  fort  by  a  party  of  Indians,  who 
had  with  them,  also,  two  or  three  white  men's  scalps. 

All  these  circumstances  showed  him  the  mischief  that  was 
brewing  in  these  parts,  and  the  treachery  and  violence  that 
pervaded  the  frontier,  and  made  him  the  more  solicitous  to  ac- 
complish his  mission  successfully,  and  conduct  his  little  band 
in  safety  out  of  a  wily  neighborhood. 

On  the  evening  of  the  14th,  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Pierre  de- 
livered to  Washington  his  sealed  reply  to  the  letter  of  Governor 
Dinwiddle.  The  purport  of  previous  conversations  with  the 
chevalier,  and  the  whole  complexion  of  affairs  on  the  frontier, 
left  no  doubt  of  the  nature  of  that  reply 

The  business  of  his  mission  being  accomplished,  Washington 
prepared  on  the  15th  to  return  by  water  to  Venango ;  but  a 
secret  influence  was  at  work  which  retarded  every  movement. 

"  The  commandant,"  writes  he,  "  ordered  a  plentiful  store  of 
liquor  and  provisions  to  be  put  on  board  our  canoes,  and  ap- 


54  LIFE  OF  WASim-'GTOK. 

peared  to  be  extremely  complaisant,  though  he  was  exerting 
every  artifice  which  he  could  invent  to  set  our  Indians  at 
variance  with  us,  to  prevent  their  going  until  after  our  depart- 
ure— presents,  rewards,  and  everything  which  could  be  sug- 
gested by  him  or  his  officers.  I  cannot  say  that  ever  in  my 
life  I  suffered  so  much  anxiety  as  I  did  in  this  affair.  I  saw 
that  every  stratagem  which  the  most  fruitful  brain  could  in- 
vent was  practiced  to  win  the  half-king  to  their  interest,  and 
that  leaving  him  there  was  giving  them  the  opportunity  they 
aimed  at.  I  went  to  the  half-king,  and  pressed  him  in  the 
strongest  terms  to  go ;  he  told  me  that  the  commandant  would 
not  discharge  him  until  the  morning.  I  then  went  to  the 
commandant  and  desired  him  to  do  their  business,  and  com- 
plained to  him  'of  ill  treatment ;  for,  keeping  them,  as  they 
were  a  part  of  my  company,  was  detaining  me.  This  he  prom- 
ised not  to  do,  but  to  forward  my  journey  as  much  as  he  could. 
He  protested  he  did  not  keep  them,  but  was  ignorant  of  the 
cause  of  their  stay ;  though  I  soon  found  it  out.  He  had  prom- 
ised them  a  present  of  guns  if  they  would  wait  until  the  morn- 
ing. As  I  was  very  much  pressed  by  the  Indians  to  wait  this 
day  for  them,  I  consented,  on  the  promise  that  nothing  should 
hinder  them  in  the  morning." 

The' next  morning  (16th)  the  French,  in  fulfillment  of  their 
promise,  had  to  give  the  present  of  guns.  They  then  endeav- 
ored to  detain  the  sachems  with  liquor,  which  at  any  other 
time  might  have  prevailed,  but  Washington  reminded  the  half- 
king  that  his  royal  word  was  pledged  to  depart,  and  urged  it 
upon  him  so  closely  that  exerting  unwonted  resolution  and 
self-denial,  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  liquor  and  embarked. 

It  was  rough  and  laborious  navigation.  French  Creek  was 
swollen  and  turbulent,  and  full  of  floating  ice.  The  frail  canoes 
were  several  times  in  danger  of  being  staved  to  pieces  against 
the  rocks.  Often  the  voyagers  had  to  leap  out  and  remain  in 
the  water  half  an  hour  at  a  time,  drawing  the  canoes  over 
shoals,  and  at  one  place  to  carry  them  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across 
a  neck  of  land,  the  river  being  completely  dammed  by  ice.  It 
was  not  until  the  22d  that  they  reached  Venango. 

Here  Washington  was  obliged,  most  unwillingly,  to  part 
company  with  the  sachems.  White  Thunder  had  hurt  himself 
and  was  ill  and  unable  to  walk,  and  the  others  determined  to 
remain  at  Venango  for  a  day  or  two  and  convey  him  down  the 
river  in  a  canoe.  There  was  danger  that  the  smooth-tongued 
and  convivial  Joncaire  would  avail  himself  of  the  interval  to  ply 
the  poor  monarchs  of  the  woods  with  flattery  and  liquor. 
Washington  endeavore<i  to  put  the  worthy  half-king  on  his 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  55 

guard,  knowing  that  he  had  once  before  shown  himself  but  lit- 
tle proof  against  the  seductions  of  the  bottle.  The  sachem, 
however,  desired  him  not  to  be  concerned ;  he  knew  the  French 
too  well  for  anything  to  engage  him  in  their  favor ;  nothing 
should  shake  his  faith  to  his  English  brothers ;  and  it  will  be 
found  that  in  these  assurances  he  was  sincere. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RETURN     FROM   VENANGO. A   TRAMP    ON     FOOT. MURDERING 

TOWN. THE     INDIAN     GUIDE. TREACHERY. AN     ANXIOUS 

NIGHT. PERILS    ON  THE    ALLEGHANY     RIVER. QUEEN    ALI- 

QUIPPA. THE  OLD  WATCH-COAT. RETURN  ACROSS  THE  BLUE 

RIDGE. 

On  the  25th  of  December,  Washington  and  his  little  party 
set  out  by  land  from  Venango  on  their  route  homeward.  They 
had  a  long  winter's  journey  before  them,  through  a  wilderness 
beset  with  dangers  and  difficulties.  The  pack-horses,  laden 
with  tents,  baggage,  and  provisions,  were  completely  jaded;  it 
was  feared  they  would  give  out.  Washington  dismounted, 
gave  up  his  saddle-horse  to  aid  in  transporting  the  baggage, 
and  requested  his  companions  to  do  the  same.  None  but  the 
drivers  remained  in  the  saddle.  He  now  equipped  himself  in 
an  Indian  hunting-dress,  and  with  Van  Br aam.  Gist,  and  John 
Davidson,  the  Indian  interpreter,  proceeded  on  foot. 

The  cold  increased.  There  was  deep  snow  that  froze  as  it 
fell.  The  horses  grew  less  and  less  capable  of  travelling.  Eor 
three  days  they  toiled  on  slowly  and  wearily.  Washington 
was  impatient  to  accomplish  his  journey,  and  make  his  report 
to  the  governor ;  he  determined,  therefore,  to  hasten  some  dis- 
tance in  advance  of  the  party,  and  then  strike  for  the  Fork  of 
the  Ohio  by  the  nearest  course  directly  through  the  woods. 
He  accordingly  put  the  cavalcade  under  the  command  of  Van 
Braam,  and  furnished  him  with  money  for  expenses  ;  then  dis- 
encumbering himself  of  all  superfluous  clothing,  buckling  him- 
self up  in  a  watch-coat,  strapping  his  pack  on  his  shoulders, 
containing  his  papers  and  provisions,  and  taking  gun  in  hand, 
he  left  the  horses  to  flounder  on,  and  struck  manfully  ahead, 
accompanied  only  by  Mr.  Gist,  who  had  equipped  himself  in 
like  manner. 


56  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

At  night  they  lit  a  fire,  and  "  camped  "  by  it  in  the  woods. 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  were  again  on  foot,  and 
pressed  forward  until  they  struck  the  southeast  fork  of  Beaver 
Creek,  at  a  place  bearing  the  sinister  name  of  Murdering  Town 
— probably  the  scene  of  some  Indian  massacre. 

Here  Washington,  in   planning  his   route,    had  intended  to . 
leave  the    regular   path,    and  strike    through   the   woods   for 
Shannopins   Town,   two  or  three   miles    above  the  Fork  of  the 
Ohio,  where  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  cross    the  Alleghany  E-iver 
on  the  ice. 

At  Murdering  Town  he  found  a  party  of  Indians,  who  ap- 
peared to  have  known  of  his  coming,  and  to  have  been  waiting 
for  him.  One  of  them  accosted  Mr.  Gist,  and  expressed  great 
joy  at  seeing  him.  The  wary  woodsman  regarded  him  narrowly, 
and  thought  he  had  seen  him  at  Joncaire's.  If  so,  he  and  his 
comrades  were  in  the  French  interest,  and  their  lying  in  wait 
boded  no  good.  The  Indian  was  very  curious  in  his  inquiries 
as  to  when  they  had  left  Venango ;  how  they  came  to  be  traveh 
ling  on  foot ;  where  they  had  left  their  horses,  and  when  it  was 
probable  the  latter  would  reach  this  place.  All  these  questions 
increased  the  distrust  of  Gist,  and  rendered  him  extremely 
cautious  in  reply. 

The  route  hence  to  Shannopins  Town  lay  through  a  track- 
less wild,  of  which  the  travellers  knew  nothing ;  after  some  con- 
sultation, therefore,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  engage  one  of 
the  Indians  as  a  guide.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  with  alac- 
rity, took  Washington's  pack  upon  his  back,  and  led  the  way 
by  what  he  said  was  the  most  direct  course.  After  travelling 
briskly  for  eight  or  ten  miles  Washington  became  fatigued,  and 
his  feet  were  chafed  ;  he  thought,  too,  they  were  taking  a  di- 
rection too  much  to  the  northeast ;  he  came  to  a  halt,  therefore, 
and  determined  to  light  a  fire,  make  a  shelter  of  the  bark  and 
branches  of  trees,  and  encamp  there  for  the  night.  The  Indian 
demurred ;  he  offered,  as  Washington  was  fatigued,  to  carry 
his  gun,  but  the  latter  was  too  wary  to  part  with  his  weapon. 
The  Indian  now  grew  churlish.  There  were  Ottawa  Indians  in 
the  woods,  he  said,  who  might  be  attracted  by  their  fire,  and  sur- 
prise and  scalp  them  ;  he  urged,  therefore,  that  they  should  con- 
tinue on;  he  would  take  them  to  his  cabin,  where  they  would  be 
safe. 

Mr.  Gist's  suspicions  increased,  but  he  said  nothing.  Wash- 
ington's also  were  awakened.  They  proceeded  some  distance 
further  :  the  guide  paused  and  listened.  He  had  hea.d,  he 
said,  the  report  of  a  gun  toward  the  north  ;  it  must  be  from 
tis  cabin  ;  he  accordingly  turned  his  steps  in  that  direction. 


LIFM  OF  WASHINGTON.  67 

Washington  tegan  to  apprehend  an  ambuscade  of  savages. 
He  knew  the  hostility  of  many  of  them  to  the  English,  and 
what  a  desirable  troj^hy  was  the  scalp  of  a  white  man.  The 
Indian  still  kept  on  toward  the  north;  he  pretended  to  hear 
two  whoops — they  were  from  his  cabin — it  could  not  be  far 
off. 

They  went  on  two  miles  further,  when  Washington  signified 
his  determination  to  encamp  at  the  first  water  they  should  find. 
The  guide  said  nothing,  but  kept  doggedly  on.  After  a  little 
while  they  arrived  at  an  opening  in  the  woods,  and  emerging 
from  the  deep  shadows  in  which  they  had  been  travelling, 
found  themselves  in  a  clear  meadow,  rendered  still  more  light 
by  the  glare  of  the  snow  upon  the  ground.  Scarcely  had  they 
emerged  when  the  Indian,  who  was  about  fifteen  paces  ahead, 
suddenly  turned,  leveled  his  gun,  and  fired.  Washington  was 
startled  for  an  instant,  but,  feeling  that  he  was  not  wounded, 
demanded  quickly  of  Mr.  Gist  if  he  was  shot.  The  latter  an- 
swered in  the  negative.  The  Indian  in  the  meantime  had  run 
forward,  and  screened  himself  behind  a  large  white  oak,  where 
he  was  reloading  his  gun.  They  overtook  and  seized  him. 
Gist  would  have  put  him  to  death  on  the  spot,  but  Washington 
humanely  prevented  him.  They  permitted  him  to  finish  the 
loading  of  his  gun  ;  but,  after  he  had  put  in  the  ball,  took  the 
weapon  from  him,  and  let  him  see  that  he  was  under  guard. 

Arriving  at  a  small  stream  they  ordered  the  Indian  to  make 
a  fire,  and  took  turns  to  watch  over  the  guns.  While  he  was 
thus  occupied.  Gist,  a  veteran  woodsman,  and  accustomed  to 
hold  the  life  of  an  Indian  rather  cheap,  was  somewhat  incom- 
moded by  the  scruples  of  his  youthful  commander,  which  might 
enable  the  savage  to  carry  out  some  scheme  of  treachery.  He 
observed  to  Washington  that,  since  he  would  not  suffer  the 
Indian  to  be  killed,  they  must  manage  to  get  him  out  of  the 
way,  and  then  decamp  with  all  speed,  and  travel  all  night  to 
leave  this  perfidious  neighborhood  behind  them;  but  first  it 
was  necessary  to  blind  the  guide  as  to  their  intentions.  He 
accordingly  addressed  him  in  a  friendly  tone,  and  adverting  to 
the  late  circumstance,  pretended  to  suppose  that  he  had  lost 
his  way,  and  fired  his  gun  merely  as  a  signal.  The  Indian, 
whether  deceived  or  not,  readily  chimed  in  with  the  explana- 
tion. He  said  he  now  knew  the  way  to  his  cabin,  which  was 
at  no  great  distance.  ^^  Well,  then,"  replied  Gist,  "you  can  go 
home,  and  as  we  are  tired  we  will  remain  here  for  the  night, 
and  follow  your  track  at  daylight.  In  the  meantime  here  is  a 
cake  of  bread  for  you,  and  you  must  give  us  some  meat  in  the 
morning." 


B8  LIFE  OF  WASniNGTOy. 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  original  designs  of  the  sar* 
age,  he  was  evidently  glad  to  get  off.  Gist  followed  him 
cautiously  for  a  distance,  and  listened  until  the  sound  of  his 
footsteps  died  away ;  returning  then  to  Washington,  they  pro- 
ceeded about  half  a  mile,  made  another  fire,  set  their  compass 
and  fixed  their  course  by  the  light  of  it,  then  leaving  it  burn- 
ing, pushed  forward,  and  travelled  as  fast  as  possible  all  night, 
so  as  to  gain  a  fair  start  should  any  one  pursue  them  at  day- 
light. Continuing  on  the  next  day,  they  never  relaxed  their 
speed  until  nightfall,  when  they  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the 
Alleghany  Kiver,  about  two  miles  above  Shannopins  Town. 

Washington  had  expected  to  find  the  river  frozen  complete- 
ly over  ;  it  was  so  only  for  about  fifty  yards  from  each  shore, 
while  great  quantities  of  broken  ice  were  driving  down  the 
main  channel.  Trusting  that  he  had  out-travelled  pursuit,  he 
encamped  on  the  border  of  the  river ;  still  it  was  an  anxious 
night,  and  he  was  up  at  daybreak  to  devisa  some  means  of 
reaching  the  opposite  bank.  No  other  mode  presented  itself 
than  by  a  raft,  and  to  construct  this  they  had  but  one  poor 
hatchet.  With  this  they  set  resolutely  to  work  and  labored  all 
day,  but  the  sun  went  down  before  their  raft  was  finished. 
Thej"  launched  it,  however,  and  getting  on  board,  endeavored 
to  propel  it  across  with  setting  poles.  Before  they  were  half 
way  over  the  raft  became  jamlned  between  cakes  of  ice,  and 
they  were  in  imminent  peril.  Washington  planted  his  pole  on 
the  bottom  of  the  stream,  and  leaned  against  it  with  all  his 
might,  to  stay  the  raft  until  the  ice  should  pass  by.  The  rapid 
current  forced  the  ice  against  the  pole  with  such  violence  that 
he  was  jerked  into  the  water,  where  it  was  at  least  ten  feet 
deep,  and  only  saved  himself  from  being  swept  away  and 
drowned  by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  raft  logs. 

It  was  now  impossible,  with  all  their  exertions,  to  get  to 
either  shore  ;  abandoning  the  raft,  therefore,  they  got  upon  an 
island,  near  which  they  were  drifting.  Here  they  passed  the 
night  exposed  to  intense  cold,  by  which  the  hands  and  feet  of  Mr. 
Gist  were  frozen.  In  the  morning  they  found  the  drift  ice 
wedged  so  closely  together,  that  they  succeeded  in  getting  from 
the  island  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river;  and  before  night 
were  in  comfortable  quarters  at  the  house  of  Frazier,  the  In- 
dian trader,  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek  on  the  Monon- 
gahela. 

Here  they  learned  from  a  war  party  of  Indians  that  a  band 
of  Ottawas,  a  tribe  in  the  interest  of  the  French,  had  massacred 
a  whole  family  of  whites  on  the  banks  of  the  Great  Kanawha 
Biver. 


LIFEJ)F^WASHINGTON.  59 

At  Frazier's  they  were  detained  two  or  three  days,  endeavor- 
ing to  procure  horses.  In  this  interval  Washington  had  again 
occasion  to  exercise  Indian  diplomacy.  About  three  miles 
distant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Youghiogheny  E-iver,  dwelt  a 
female  sachem,  Queen  Alrquippa,  as  the  English  called  her, 
whose  sovereign  dignity  had  been  aggrieved,  that  the  party, 
on  their  way  to  the  Ohio,  had  passed  near  her  royal  wigwam 
without  paying  their  respects  to  her. 

Aware  of  the  importance,  at  this  critical  juncture,  of  securing 
the  friendship)  of  the  Indians,  Washington  availed  himself  of 
the  interruption  of  his  journey,  to  pay  a  visit  of  ceremony  to 
this  native  princess.  Whatever  anger  she  may  have  felt  at 
past  neglect,  it  was  readily  appeased  by  a  present  of  his  old 
watch-coat ;  and  her  good  graces  were  completely  secured  by 
a  bottle  of  rum,  which,  he  intimates,  appeared  to  be  peculiarly 
acceptable  to  her  majesty. 

Leaving  Frazier's  on  the  1st  of  January,  they  arrived  on  the 
2d  at  Gist's  residence,  sixteen  miles  from  the  Monongahela. 
Here  they  separated,  and  Washington,  having  purchased  a 
horse,  continued  his  homeward  course,  passing  horses  laden 
with  materials  and  stores  for  the  fort  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio, 
and  families  going  out  to  settle  there. 

Having  crossed  the  Blue  Kidge  and  stopped  one  day  at 
Eelvoir  to  rest,  he  reached  Williamsburg  on  the  16th  of 
January,  where  he  delivered  to  Governor  Dinwiddle  the  letter 
of  the  French  commandant,  and  made  him  a  full  report  of  the 
events  of  his  mission. 

We  have  been  minute  in  our  account  of  this  expedition,  as 
it  was  an  early  test  and  development  of  the  various  talents  and 
characteristics  of  Washington. 

The  prudence,  sagacity,  resolution,  firmness,  and  self-devotion 
manifested  by  him  throughout;  his  admirable  tact  and  self- 
possession  in  treating  with  fickle  savages  and  crafty  white  men  ; 
the  soldier's  eye  with  which  he  had  noticed  the  commanding  and 
defensible  points  of  the  country,  and  everything  that  would 
bear  upon  military  operations  ;  and  the  hardihood  with  which 
he  had  acquitted  himself  during  a  wintry  t^;amp  through  the 
wilderness,  through  constant  storms  of  rain  and  snow,  often 
sleeping  on  the  ground,  without  a  tent,  in  the  open  air,  and  in 
danger  from  treacherous  foes, — all  pointed  him  out,  not  merely 
to  the  governor,  but  to  the  public  at  large,  as  one  eminently 
fitted,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  for  important  trusts,  involving 
civil  as  well  as  military  duties.  It  is  an  expedition  that  may 
be  considered  the  foundation  of  his  fortunes.  From  tha^ 
moment  he  was  the  rising  hope  of  Virginia, 


60  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  X. 

REPLY  OF  THE    CHEVALIER    DE    ST.    PIERRE. TRENT's    MISSION 

to    the    frontier. washington    recruits     troops. 

dinwiddie  and    the  house  of  burgesses. independent 

conduct  of  the  virginians. expedients   to   gain   re- 
cruits.  jacob  van  braam  in  service. toilful  march  to 

wills*  creek. contrecceur  at  the  fork  of  the  ohio. 

Trent's  refactory  troops 

The  reply  of  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Pierre  was  such  as  might 
have  been  expected  from  that  courteous  but  wary  commander. 
He  should  transmit,  he  said,  the  letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie 
to  his  General,  the  Marquis  Duquesne,  "  to  whom,"  observed 
he,  "  it  better  belongs  than  to  me  to  set  forth  the  evidence 
and  reality  of  the  rights  of  the  king,  my  master,  upon  the  lands 
situated  along  the  river  Ohio,  and  to  contest  the  pretensions 
of  the  king  of  Great  Britain  thereto.  His  answer  shall  be  a 
law  to  me.  ...  As  to  the  summons  you  send  me  to  retire,  I 
do  not  think  myself  obliged  to  obey  it.  Whatever  may  be 
your  instructions,  I  am  here  by  virtue  of  the  orders  of  my 
general ;  and  I  entreat  you,  sir,  not  to  doubt  one  moment  but 
that  I  am  determined  to  conform  myself  to  them  with  all  the 
exactness  and  resolution  which  can  be  expected  from  the  best 
officer.".  .  . 

"  I  made  it  my  particular  care,"  adds  he,  "  to  receive  Mr. 
"Washington  with  a  distinction  suitable  to  your  dignity,  as  well 
as  his  own  quality  and  great  merit.  I  flatter  myself  that  he 
will  do  me  this  justice  before  you,  sir,  and  that  he  will  signify 
to  you,  in  the  manner  I  do  myself,  the  profound  respect  with 
which  I  am,  sir,"  etc.^ 

This  soldier-like  and  punctilious  letter  of  the  chevalier  was 
considered  evasive,  and  only  intended  to  gain  time.  The  in- 
formation given  by  Washington  of  what  he  had  observed  on  the 
frontier  convinced  Governor  Dinwiddie  and  his  council  that  the 
Prench  were  preparing  to  descend  the  Ohio  in  the  spring,  and 
take  military  possession  of  the  country.  Washington's 
journal  was  printed  and  widely  promulgated  throughout  the 
polonies  and  England,  and  awakened  the  nation  to  a  sense  o| 

*  London  Mag.,  June  1754, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  61 

the  impending  danger,  and  the  necessity  of  prompt  measures 
to  anticipate  the  French  movements. 

Captain  Trent  was  despatched  to  the  frontier,  commissioned 
to  raise  a  company  of  one  hundred  men,  march  with  all  speed 
to  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio,  and  finish  as  soon  as  possible  the  fort 
commenced  there  by  the  Ohio  Company.  He  was  enjoined  to 
act  only  on  the  defensive,  but  to  capture  or  destroy  whoever 
should  oppose  the  construction  of  the  works,  or  disturb  the 
settlements.  The  choice  of  Captain  Trent  for  this  service, 
notwithstanding  his  late  inefficient  expedition,  was  probably 
owing  to  his  being  brother-in-law  to  George  Croghan,  who  had 
grown  to  be  quite  a  personage  of  consequence  on  the  frontier, 
where  he  had  an  establishment  or  trading-house,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  have  great  influence  among  the  western  tribes,  so  as 
to  able  at  any  time  to  persuade  many  of  them  to  take  up  the 
hatchet. 

Washington  was  empowered  to  raise  a  company  of  like  force 
at  Alexandria ;  to  procure  and  forward  munitions  and  supplies 
for  the  projected  fort  at  the  Fork,  and  ultimately  to  have  com- 
mand of  both  companies.  When  on  the  frontier  he  was  to  take 
counsel  of  George  Croghan  and  Andrew  Montour  the  interpre- 
ter, in  all  matters  relating  to  the  Indians,  they  being  esteemed 
perfect  oracles  in  that  department. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  in  the  meantime  called  upon  the  gover- 
nors of  the  other  provinces  to  make  common  cause  against  the 
foe  ;  he  endeavored,  also,  to  effect  alliances  with  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  south,  the  Catawbas  and  Cherokees,  by  way  of 
counterbalancing  the  Chippewas  and  Ottawas,  Avho  Avere 
devoted  to  the  French. 

The  colonies,  however,  felt  as  yet  too  much  like  isolated  ter- 
ritories ;  the  spirit  of  union  was  wanting.  Some  pleaded  a 
want  of  military  funds ;  some  questioned  the  justice  of  the 
cause  ;  some  declined  taking  any  hostile  step  that  might  involve 
them  in  a  war,  unless  they  should  have  direct  orders  from  the 
crown. 

Dinwiddie  convened  the  House  of  Burgesses  to  devise  meas- 
ures for  the  public  security.  Here  his  high  idea  of  prerogative 
and  of  gubernatorial  dignity  met  with  a  grievous  countercheck 
from  the  dawning  spirit  of  independence.  High  as  were  the 
powers  vested  in  the  colonial  government  of  Virginia,  of  which, 
though  but  lieutenant-governor,  he  had  the  actual  control ; 
they  were  counterbalanced  by  the  power  inherent  in  the  people, 
growing  out  of  their  situation  and  circumstances,  and  acting 
through  their  representatives. 

TherQ  was  no  turbulent  factious  opposition  to  government  ij) 


62  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

Virginia  ;  no  "  fierce  domocracy/'  tlie  rank  growth  of  crowded 
cities,  and  a  fermenting  populace ;  but  there  was  the  independ- 
ence of  men,  living  apart  in  patriarchal  style  on  their  own  rural 
domains  ;  surrounded  by  their  families,  dependants,  and  slaves, 
among  whom  their  will  was  law, — and  there  was  the  individual- 
ity in  character  and  action  of  men  prone  to  nurture  peculiar 
notions  and  habits  of  thinking,  in  the  thoughtful  solitariness 
of  country  life. 

When  Dinwiddle  propounded  his  scheme  of  operations  on  the 
Ohio,  some  of  the  burgesses  had  the  hardihood  to  doubt  the 
claims  of  *the  king  to  the  disputed  territory ;  a  doubt  which 
the  governor  reprobated  as  savoring  strongly  of  a  most  dis- 
loyal French  spirit ;  he  fired,  as  he  says,  at  the  thought  "  that 
an  English  legislature  should  presume  to  doubt  the  right  of 
His  Majesty  to  the  interior  parts  of  this  continent,  the  back 
part  of  his  dominions  !  '^ 

Others  demurred  to  any  grant  of  means  for  military  purposes 
which  might  be  construed  into  an  act  of  hostility.  To  meet 
'this  scruple  it  was  suggested  that  the  grant  might  be  made  for 
the  purpose  of  encouraging  and  protecting  all  settlers  on  the 
waters  of  the  Mississippi.  And  under  this  specious  plea  ten 
thousand  pounds  were  grudgingly  voted ;  but  even  this  mod- 
erate sum  was  not  put  at  the  absolute  disposition  of  the  govern- 
or. A  committee  was  appointed  with  whom  he  was  to  confer 
as  to  its  appropriation. 

This  precaution  Dinwiddle  considered  an  insulting  invasion 
of  the  right  he  possessed  as  governor  to  control  the  purse  as 
well  as  the  sword ;  and  he  complained  bitterly  of  the  Assembly, 
as  deeply  tinctured  with  a  republican  way  of  thinking,  and 
disposed  to  encroach  on  the  prerogative  of  the  crown,  "  which 
he  feared  would  render  them  more  and  more  difficult  to  be 
brought  to  order.^^ 

Ways  and  means  being  provided,  Governor  Dinwiddle  aug- 
mented the  number  of  troops  to  be  enlisted  to  three  hundred, 
divided  into  «ix  companies.  The  command  of  the  whole,  as 
before,  was  offered  to  Washington,  but  he  shrank  from  it,  as  a 
charge  too  great  for  his  youth  and  inexperience.  It  was  given, 
therefore,  to  Colonel  Joshua  Fry,  an  English  gentleman  of  worth 
and  education,  and  Washington  was  made  second  in  command, 
with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel. 

The  recruiting,  at  first,  went  on  slowly.  Those  who  offered 
to  enlist,  says  Washington,  were  for  the  most  part  loose,  idle 
persons  without  house  or  home,  some  without  shoes  or  stockings, 
some  shirtless,  and  many  without  coat  or  waistcoat. 

JJe  was  ^oun^  in  the  recruiting  service^  or  he  would  havQ 


LIFE  OF  WASntNGT02^.  Q,^ 

known  that  sncli  is  generally  the  stuff  of  which  armies  are 
made.  In  this  country,  especially,  it  has  always  been  difficult 
to  enlist  the  active  yeomanry  by  holding  out  merely  the  pay 
of  a  soldier.  The  means  of  subsistence  are  too  easily  obtained 
by  the  industrious,  for  them  to  give  up  home  and  personal  in- 
dependence for  a  mere  daily  suj^port.  Some  may  be  tempted 
by  a  love  of  adventure ;  but  in  general,  they  require  some 
prospect  of  ultimate  advantage  that  may  "  better  their  condi- 
tion." 

Governor  Dinwiddle  became  sensible  of  this,  and  resorted  to 
an  expedient  rising  out  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country, 
which  has  since  been  frequently  adopted,  and  always'  with 
efficacy.  He  proclaimed  a  bounty  of  two  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land  on  the  Ohio  E-iver,  to  be  divided  among  the  offi- 
cers and  soldiers  who  should  engage  in  this  expedition ;  one 
thousand  to.be  laid  off  contiguous  to  the  fort  on  the  Fork,  for 
the  use  of  the  garrison.  This  was  a  tempting  bait  to  the 
sons  of  farmers,  who  readily  enlisted  in  the  hope  of  having,  at 
the  end  of  a  short  campaign,  a  snug'  farm  of  their  own  in  this 
land  of  promise. 

It  was  a  more  difficult  matter  to  get  officers  than  soldiers. 
Very  few  of  those  appointed  made  their  appearance  ;  one  of  the 
captains  had  been  promoted ;  two  declined ;  Washington  found 
himself  left,  almost  alone,  to  manage  a  number  of  self-willed, 
undisciplined  recruits.  Happily  he  had  with  him,  in  the  rank 
of  lieutenant,  that  soldier  of  fortune,  Jacob  Van  Braam,  his 
old  "master  of  fence,"  and  travelling  interpreter. 

In  his  emergency  he  forthwith  nominated  him  captain,  and 
wrote  to  the  governor  to  confirm  the  appointment,  represent- 
ing him  as  the  oldest  lieutenant  and  an  experienced  officer. 

On  the  2d  of  April  Washington  set  off  from  Alexandria  for 
the  new  fort,  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio.  He  had  but  two  com- 
panies with  him,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men  :  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  was  to  follow  under  Colonel 
Fry  with  the  artillery,  which  was  to  be  conveyed  up  the  Poto- 
mac. While  on  the  march  he  was  joined  by  a  detachment 
under  Captain  Adam  Stephen,  an  officer  destined  to  serve  with 
him  at  distant  periods  of  his  military  career. 

At  Winchester  he  found  it  impossible  to  obtain  conveyances 
by  gentle  means,  and  was  obliged  reluctantly  to  avail  himself 
of  the  militia  law  of  Virginia,  and  impress  horses  and  wagons 
for  service  ;  giving  the  owners  orders  on  government  for  their 
appraised  value.  Even  then,  out  of  a  great  number  impressed, 
he  obtained  but  ten,  after  waiting  a  week  ;  these,  too,  were 
grudgingly  furnished  by  farmers   with  their  worst  horses,  so 


64  LIFE  OF  WASIIINGTOJ^. 

that  in  stsep  and  difficult  passes,  they  were  incompetent  to  the 
draught,  and  the  soldiers  had  continually  to  put  their  shoulders 
to  the  wheels. 

Thus  slenderly  fitted  out,  Washington  and  his  little  force 
made  their  way  toilfullj^  across  the  mountains,  having  to  pre- 
pare the  roads  as  they  went  for  the  transportation  of  the  cannon, 
which  were  to  follow  on  with  the  other  division  under  Colonel  Fry. 
They  cheered  themselves  with  the  thoughts  that  this  hard 
work  would  cease  when  they  should  arrive  at  the  company's 
trading-post  and  storehouse  at  Wills'  Creek,  where  Captain 
Trent  was  to  have  pack-horses  in  readiness,  with  which  they 
might  make  the  rest  of  the  way  by  light  stages.  Before 
arriving  there  they  were  startled  by  a  rumor  that  Trent  and 
all  his  men  had  been  captured  by  the  French.  With  regard  to 
Trent,  the  news  soon  proved  to  be  false,  for  they  found  him  at 
Wills'  Creek  on  the  20th  of  April.  With  regard  to  his  men 
there  was  still  an  uncertainty.  He  had  recently  left  them  at 
the  Fork  of  the  Ohio,  busily  at  work  on  the  fort,  under  the 
command  of  his  lieutenant,  Frazier,  late  Indian  trader  and 
gunsmith,  but  now  a  provincial  officer.  If  the  men  had  been 
captured,  it  must  have  been  since  the  captain's  departure. 
Washington  was  eager  to  press  f  orwa,rd  and  ascertain  the  truth, 
but  it  was  impossible.  Trent,  inefficient  as  usual,  had  failed 
to  provide  pack-horses.  It  was  necessary  to  send  to  Winches- 
ter, sixty  miles  distant,  for  baggage  wagons,  and  await  their 
arrival.  All  uncertainty  as  to  the  fate  of  the  men,  however, 
M^as  brought  to  a  close  by  their  arrival,  on  the  25th,  conducted 
by  an  ensign,  and  bringing  with  them  their  working  imple- 
ments. The  French  might  well  boast  that  they  had  again  been 
too  quick  for  the  English.  Captain  Contrecoeur,  an  alert  offi- 
cer, had  embarked  about  a  thousand  men  with  field-pieces,  in  a 
fleet  of  sixty  batteaux  and  three  hundred  canoes,  dropped  down 
the  river  from  Venango,  and  suddenly  made  his  appearance 
before  the  fort,  on  which  the  men  were  working,  and  which 
was  not  half  completed.  Landing,  drawing  up  his  men,  and 
planting  his  artillery,  he  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender, 
allowing  one  hour  for  a  written  reply. 

What  was  to  be  done  !  The  whole  garrison  did  not  exceed 
fifty  men.  Captain  Trent  was  absent  at  Wills'  Creek  ;  Frazier, 
his  lieutenant,  was  at  his  own  residence  at  Turtle  Creek,  ten 
miles  distant.  There  was  no  officer  to  reply  but  a  young  ensign 
of  the  name  of  Ward.  In  his  perplexity  he  turned  for  council 
to  Tanacharisson,  the  half-king,  who  was  present  in  the  fort. 
The  chief  advised  the  ensign  to  plead  insufficiency  of  rank  and 
powers,  and  crave  delay  until  the  arrival  of  his  superior  officer. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  65l 

The  ensign  repaired  to  the  French  camp  to  offer  this  excuse  in 
person,  and  was  accompanied  by  the  half-king.  They  were 
courteously  received,  but  Contrecoeur  was  inflexible.  There 
must  be  instant  surrender,  or  he  would  take  forcible  possession. 
All  that  the  ensign  could  obtain  was  permission  to  depart  with 
his  men,  taking  with  them  their  working  tools.  The  capitula- 
tion ended.  Contrecoeur,  with  true  Erench  gayety,  invited  the 
ensign  to  sup  with  him ;  treated  him  with  the  utmost  polite- 
ness, and  wished  him  a  pleasant  journey,  as  he  set  off  the  next 
morning  with  his  men  laden  with  their  working  tools. 

Such  was  the  ensign's  story.  He  was  accompanied  by  two 
Indian  warriors,  sent  by  the  half-king  to  ascertain  where  the 
detachment  was,  what  w^as  its  strength,  and  when  it  might  be  ex- 
pected at  the  Ohio.  They  bore  a  speech  from  that  sachem  to 
Washington,  and  another,  with  a  belt  of  wampum  for  the 
Governor  of  Virginia.  In  these  he  plighted  his  steadfast  faith 
to  the  English,  and  claimed  assistance  from  his  brothers  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Pennsylvania. 

One  of  these  warriors  Washington  forwarded  on  with  the 
speech  and  wampum  to  Governor  Dinwiddle.  The  other  he 
prevailed  on  to  return  to  the  half-king,  bearing  a  speech  from 
him,  addressed  to  the  "  sachems,  warriors  of  the  Six  United 
Nations,  Shannoahs  and  Delawares,  our  friends  and  brethren.'' 
In  this  he  informed  them  that  he  was  on  the  advance  with  a 
part  of  the  army,  to  clear  the  road  for  a  greater  force  coming 
with  guns,  ammunition,  and  provisions ;  and  he  invited  the 
half-king  and  another  sachem  to  meet  him  on  the  road  as  soon 
as  possible  to  hold  a  council. 

In  fact,  his  situation  was  arduous  in  the  extreme.  Regard- 
ing the  conduct  of  the  Erench  in  the  recent  occurrence  an  overt 
act  of  war,  he  found  himself  thrown  with  a  handful  of  raw  re- 
cruits far  on  a  hostile  frontier,  in  the  midst  of  a. wilderness, 
with  an  enemy  at  hand  greatly  superior  in  number  and  disci- 
pline ;  provided  with  artillery,  and  all  the  munitions  of  war,  and 
within  reach  of  constant  supplies  and  reinforcements.  Beside 
the  Erench  that  had  come  from  Venango,  he  had  received  credi- 
"ble  accounts  of  another  party  ascending  the  Ohio  ;  and  of  six 
hundred  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  marching  down  Scioto  Creek 
to  join  the  hostile  camp.  Still,  notwithstanding  the  accumulat- 
ing danger,  it  would  not  do  to  fall  back,  nor  show  signs  of  ap- 
prehension. His  Indian  allies  in  such  case  might  desert  him. 
The  soldiery,  too,  might  grow  restless  and  dissatisfied.  He 
was  already  annoyed  by  Captain  Trent's  men,  who,  having  en- 
listed as  volunteers,  considered  themselves  exempt  from  the 
rigor  of  martial  law  ;  and  by  their  example  of  loose  and  re- 


ee  LIFK  OF  WASHINGTON. 

fractory  conduct,  threatened  to  destroy  the  subordination  of  his 
own  troops. 

In  this  dilemma  he  called  a  council  of  war,  in  wdiich  it  was 
determined  to  proceed  to  the  Ohio  Company  storehouse,  at  the 
mouth  of  Redstone  Creek ;  fortify  themselves  there,  and  wait 
for  reinforcements.  Here  they  might  keep  up  a  vigilant  watch 
upon  the  enemj'',  and  get  notice  of  any  hostile  movement  in 
time  for  defense,  or  retreat ;  and  should  they  be  reinforced  suf- 
ficiently to  enable  them  to  attack  the  fort,  they  could  easily 
drop  down  the  river  with  their  artillery. 

With  these  alternatives  in  view,  Washington  detached  sixty 
men  in  advance  to  make  a  road ;  and  at  the  same  time  wrote  to 
Governor  Dinwiddle  for  mortars  and  grenadoes,  and  cannon  of 
heav}'"  metal. 

Aware  that  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  was  in  session, 
and  that  the  Maryland  Assembly  would  also  meet  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  he  wrote  directly  to  the  governors  of  those  pro- 
vinces, acquainting  them  with  the  hostile  acts  of  the  French, 
and  with  his  perilous  situation  ;  and  endeavoring  to  rouse  them 
to  cooperation  in  the  common  cause.  We  will  here  note  in  ad- 
vance that  his  letter  was  laid  before  the  Legislature  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  a  bill  was  about  to  be  passed  making  appropriations 
for  the  service  of  the  king ;  but  it  fell  through,  in  consequence 
of  a  disagreement  between  the  Assembly  and  the  governor  as 
to  the  mode  in  which  the  money  should  be  raised ;  and  so  no 
assistance  was  furnished  to  Washington  from  that  quarter. 
The  youthful  commander  had  here  a  foretaste,  in  these  his  in- 
cipient campaigns,  of  the  perils  and  perplexities  which  awaited 
him  from  enemies  in  the  field,  and  lax  friends  in  legislative 
councils  in  the  grander  operations  of  his  future  years.  Before 
setting  off  for  Redstone  Creek,  he  discharged  Trent's  refractory 
men  from  his  detachment,  ordering  them  to  wait  Colonel  Pry's 
commands  ;  they,  however,  in  true  spirit  of  volunteers  from  the 
backwoods,  dispersed  to  their  several  homes. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  observe,  in  this  place,  that  both  Captain 
Trent  and  Lieutenant  Prazier  were  severely  censured  for  being 
absent  from  their  post  at  the  time  of  the  Prench  summons. 
"  Trent's  behavior,"  said  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Governor 
Dinwiddle,  "  has  been  yq^vj  tardy,  and  has  convinced  the  world 
of  what  they  before  suspected — his  great  timidity.  Lieutenant 
Prazier,  though  not  altogether  blameless,  is  much  more  excus- 
able, for  he  would  not  accept  of  the  commission  until  he  had  a 
promise  from  his  captain  that  he  should  not  reside  at  the  fort, 
nor  visit  it  above  once  a  w^eek,  or  as  he  saw  necessity."  In 
fact,  Washington  subsequently  recommended  Prazier  for  the 
office  of  adjutant. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  67 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

MARCH  TO  THE  LITTLE  MEADOWS. RUMORS  FROM  THE  OHIO. — 

CORRESPOXDEXCE  FROM  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  YOUGHIOGHENY. 

ATTEMPT  TO  DESCEXD  THAT  RIVER. ALARMING  REPORTS. 

SCOUTING  PARTIES. PERILOUS    SITUATION  OF    THE    CAMP. 

GIST  AND  LA  FORCE. MESSAGE    FROM  THE    HALF-KING. 

FRENCH  TRACKS. THE  JUMONVILLE  SKIRMISH. TREATMENT 

OF  LA  FORCE. POSITION  AT  THE    GREAT    MEADOWS. BELLI- 
GERENT FEELINGS  OF  A  YOUNG  SOLDIER. 

On  the  29th  of  April  Washington  set  out  from  Wills'  Creek 
at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men.  He  soon  overtook 
those  sent  in  advance  to  work  the  road ;  they  had  made  but 
little  progress.  It  was  a  difficult  task  to  break  a  road  through 
the  wilderness  sufficient  for  the  artillery  coming  on  with  Col- 
onel Fry's  division.  All  hands  were  now  set  to  work,  but  with 
all  their  labor  they  could  not  accomplish  more  than  four  miles 
a  day.  They  were  toiling  through  Savage  Mountain  and  that 
dreary  forest  region  beyond  it,  since  bearing  the  sinister  name 
of  "  The  Shades  of  Death."  On  the  9th  of  May  they  were  not 
further  than  twenty  miles  from  Wills'  Creek,  at  a  place  called 
the  Little  Meadows. 

Every  day  came  gloomy  accounts  from  the  Ohio ;  brought 
chiefly  by  traders,  who,  with  pack-horses  bearing  their  effects, 
were  retreating  to  the  more  settled  parts  of  the  country.  Some 
exaggerated  the  number  of  the  French,  as  if  strongly  rein- 
forced. All  represented  them  as  diligently  at  work  construct- 
ing a  fort.  By  their  account  Washington  perceived  the 
French  had  chosen  the  very  place  which  he  had  noted  in  his 
journal  as  best  fitted  for  the  purpose. 

One  of  the  traders  gave  information  concerning  La  Force, 
the  French-  emissary  who  had  beset  Washington  when  on  his 
mission  to  the  frontier,  and  acted,  as  he  thought,  the  part  of  a 
spy.  He  had  been  at  Gist's  new  settlement  beyond  Laurel 
Hill,  and  was  prowling  about  the  country  with  four  soldiers  at 
his  heels  on  a  pretended  hunt  after  deserters.  Washington 
suspected  him  to  be  on  a  reconnoitering  expedition. 

It  was  reported,  moreover,  that  the  French  were  lavishing 
presents  on  the  Indians  about  the  lower  part  of  the  river,  to 
draw  them  to  their  standard.     Among  all  these  flying  reports 


eS  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  alarms  "Washington  was  gratified  to  learn  that  the  half- 
king  was  on  his  way  to  meet  him  at  the  head  of  fifty  warriors. 

After  infinite  toil  through  swamps  and  forests,  and  over  rug- 
ged mountains,  the  detachment  arrived  at  the  Youghiogheny 
River,  where  they  were  detained  some  days  constructing  a 
bridge  to  cross  it. 

This  gave  Washington  leisure  to  correspond  with  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  concerning  matters  which  had  deeply  annoyed  him. 
By  an  ill-judged  economy  of  the  Virginia  government  at  this 
critical  juncture,  its  provincial  officers  received  less  pay  than 
that  allowed  in  the  regular  army.  It  is  true  the  regular 
officers  were  obliged  to  furnish  their  own  table,  but  their 
superior  pay  enabled  them  to  do  it  luxuriously ;  whereas  the 
provincials  were  obliged  to  do  hard  duty  on  salt  provisions  and 
water.  The  provincial  officers  resented  this  inferiority  of  pay 
as  an  indignity,  and  declared  that  nothing  prevented  them 
from  throwing  up  their  commissions  but  unwillingness  to  re- 
cede before  approaching  danger 

Washington  shared  deeply  this  feeling.  "  Let  him  serve 
voluntarily,  and  he  would  with  the  greatest  pleasure  in  life  de- 
vote his  services  to  the  expedition — but  to  be  slaving  through 
woods,  rocks,  and  mountains,  for  the  shadow  of  pay — "  writes 
he,  "  I  would  rather  toil  like  a  day  laborer  for  a  maintenance, 
if  reduced  to  the  necessity,  than  serve  on  such  ignoble  terms." 
Parity  of  pay  was  indispensable  to  the  dignity  of  the  service. 

Other  instances  of  false  economy  were  pointed  out  by  him, 
forming  so  many  drags  upon  the  expedition  that  he  quite 
despaired  of  success.  "  Be  the  consequence  what  it  will,  how- 
ever," adds  he,  "  I  am  determined  not  to  leave  the  regiment, 
but  to  be  among  the  last  men  that  leave  the  Ohio ;  even  if  I 
serve  as  a  private  volunteer,  which  I  greatly  prefer  to  the  es- 
tablishment we  are  upon  ....  I  have-  a  constitution  hardy 
enough  to  encounter  and  undergo  the  most  severe  trials,  and  I 
flatter  myself  resolution  to  face  what  any  man  dares,  as  shall 
be  proved  when  it  comes  to  the  test. 

And  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Colonel  Fairfax — ^'  For  my  own 
part,"  writes  he,  "  it  is  a  matter  almost  indifferent  whether  1 
serve  for  full  pay  or  as  a  generous  volunteer ;  indeed,  did  my 
circumstances  correspond  with  my  inclinations,  I  should  not 
hesitate  a  moment  to  prefer  the  latter  ;  for  the  motives  that 
have  led  me  here  are  pure  and  nolle.  I  had  710  view  of  ac- 
quisition hut  that  of  honor,  by  servijig  faithfully  my  king  and 
country.'''' 

Such  were  the  noble  impulses  of  Washington  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  and  such  continiied  to  actuate  hiin  throughout  life. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  69 

We  have  put  the  latter  part  of  the  quotation  in  italics,  as  ap 
plicahle  to  the  motives  which  in  after  life  carried  him  into  the 
E-evolution. 

While  the  bridge  over  the  Youghiogheny  was  in  the  course 
of  construction,  the  Indians  assured  Washington  he  would 
never  be  able  to  open  a  wagon-road  across  the  mountains  to 
Redstone  Creek ;  he  embarked,  therefore,  in  a  canoe  with  a 
lieutenant,  three  soldiers,  and  an  Indian  guide,  to  try  whether 
it  was  possible  to  descend  the  river.  They  had  not  descended 
above  ten  miles  before  the  Indian  refused  to  go  further.  Wash- 
ington soon  ascertained  the  reason.  "  Indians,"  said  he,  "  ex- 
pect presents — nothing  can  be  done  without  them.  The  French 
take  this  method.  If  you  want  one  or  more  to  conduct  a  party, 
to  discover  the  country,  to  hunt,  or  for  any  particular  purpose, 
they  must  be  bought ;  their  friendship  is  not  so  warm  as  to 
prompt  them  to  these  services  gratis."  The  Indian  guide  in 
the  present  instance  was  propitiated  by  the  promise  of  one  of 
Washington's  ruffled  shirts  and  a  watch-coat. 

The  river  was  bordered  by  mountains  and  obstructed  by 
rocks  and  rapids.  Indians  might  thread  such  a  labyrinth  in 
their  light  canoes,  but  it  would  never  admit  the  transportation 
of  troops  and  military  stores.  Washington  kept  on  for  thirty 
miles,  until  he  came  to  a  place  where  the  river  fell  nearly  forty 
feet  in  the  space  of  fifty  yards.  There  he  ceased  to  explore, 
and  returned  to  camp,  resolving  to  continue  forward  by  land. 

On  the  23d  Indian  scouts  brought  word  that  the  French 
were  not  above  eight  hundred  strong,  and  that  about  half  their 
number  had  been  detached  at  night  on  a  secret  expedition. 
Close  upon  this  report  came  a  message  from  the  half-king,  ad- 
dressed'^  to  the  first  of  His  Majesty's  ofHcers  whom  it  may 
concern." 

"It  is  reported,"  said  he,  "that  the  French  army  is  coming 
to  meet  Major  Washington.  Be  on  your  guard  against  them 
my  brethren,  for  they  intend  to  strike  the  first  English  they 
shall  see.  They  have  been  on  their  march  two  days.  I  know 
not  their  number.  The  half-king  and  the  rest  of  the  chiefs 
will  be  with  you  in  five  days  to  hold  a  council." 

In  the  evening  Washington  was  told  that  the  French  were 
crossing  the  ford  of  the  Youghiogheny  about  eighteen  miles 
distant.  He  now  hastened  to  take  a  position  in  a  place  called 
the  Great  Meadows,  where  he  caused  the  bushes  to  be  cleared 
away,  made  an  intrenchment,  and  prepared  what  he  termed 
"  a  charming  field  for  an  encounter." 

A  party  of  scouts  were  mounted  on  wagon  horses,  and  sent 
out  to  reconnoiter.     They  returned  without  having  seen   au 


70  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

enemy.  A  sensitiveness  prevailed  in  the  camp.  They  were 
surrounded  hy  forests,  threatened  by  unseen  foes,  and  hourly 
in  danger  of  surprise.  There  was  an  alarm  about  two  o'clock 
in  the  night.  The  sentries  fired  upon  what  they  took  to  be 
prowling  foes.  The  troops  sprang  to  arms,  and  remained  on 
the  alert  until  daybreak.  Not  an  enemy  was  to  be  seen.  The 
roll  was  called.     Six  men  were  missing,  who  had  deserted. 

On  the  25th  Mr.  Gist  arrived  from  his  place,  about  fifteen 
miles  distant.  La  Force  had  been  there  at  noon  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  with  a  detachment  of  fifty  men,  and  Gist  had  since 
come  upon  their  track  within  five  miles  of  the  camp.  Wash- 
ington considered  La  Force  a  bold,  enterprising  man,  subtle 
and  dangerous ;  one  to  be  particularly  guarded  against.  He 
detached  seventy-five  men  in  pursuit  of  him  and  his  prowling 
band. 

About  nine  o'clock  at  night  came  an  Indian  messenger  from 
the  half-king,  who  was  encamped  with  several  of  his  people 
about  six  miles  off.  The  chief  had  seen  tracks  of  two  French- 
men, and  was  convinced  their  whole  body  must  be  in  ambush 
near  by. 

Washington  considered  this  the  force  which  had  been  hover- 
ing about  him  for  several  days,  and  determined  to  forestall 
their  hostile  designs.  Leaving  a  guard  with  the  baggage  and 
ammunition,  he  set  out  before  ten  o'clock,  with  forty  men,  to 
join  his  Indian  ally.  They  groped  their  way  in  single  file,  by 
footpaths  through  the  woods,  in  a  heavy  rain  and  murky  dark- 
ness, tripping  occasionally  and  stumbling  over  each  other, 
sometimes  losing  the  track  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  so 
that  it  was  near  sunrise  when  they  reached  the  camp  of  the 
half-king. 

That  chieftain  received  the  youthful  commander  with  great 
demonstrations  of  friendship,  and  engaged  to  go  hand  in  hand 
with  him  against  the  lurking  enemy.  He  set  out  accordingly, 
accompanied  by  a  few  of  his  warriors  and  his  associate 
sachem  Scarooyadi  or  Monacatoocha,  and  conducted  Wash- 
ington to  the  tracks  which  he  had  discovered.  Upon  these 
he  put  two  of  his  Indians.  They  followed  them  up  like 
hounds,  and  brought  back  word  that  they  had  traced  them  to 
a  low  bottom  surrounded  by  rocks  and  trees,  where  the  French 
were  encamped,  having  built  a  few  cabins  for  shelter  from  the 
rain. 

A  plan  was  now  concerted  to  come  upon  them  by  surprise; 
Washington  with  his  men  on  the  right;  the  half-king  with  his 
warriors  on  the  left ;  all  as  silentl}^  as  possible.  Washington 
was  the   first  upon  the  ground.     As  liQ  advanced  from  among 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  71 

the  rocks  and  trees  at  the  head  of  his  men,  the  French  caught 
sight  of  him  and  ran  to  their  arms.  A  sharp  firing  instantly 
took  place,  and  was  kept  up  on  hoth  sides  for  about  fifteen 
minutes.  Washington  and  his  party  were  most  exposed  and  re- 
ceived all  the  enemy's  fire.  The  balls  whistled  around  him ; 
one  man  was  killed  close  by  him,  and  three  others  wounded. 
The  French  at  length,  having  lost  several  of  their  number, 
gave  way  and  ran.  They  were  soon  overtaken;  twenty-one 
were  captured,  and  but  one  esca^Ded,  a  Canadian,  who  carried 
the  tidings  of  the  affair  to  the  fort  on  the  Ohio.  The  Indians 
would  have  massacred  the  prisoners  had  not  Washington  pre- 
vented them.  Ten  of  the  French  had  fallen  in  the  skirmish, 
and  one  had  been  wounded.  Washington's  loss  was  the  one  killed 
and  three  wounded  which  we  have  mentioned.  He  had  been 
in  the  hottest  fire,  and  having  for  the  first  time  heard  balls 
whistle  about  him,  considered  his  escape  miraculous.  Jumon- 
ville,  the  French  leader,  had  been  shot  through  the  head  at  the 
first  fire.  He  was  a  young  officer  of  merit,  and  his  fate  was 
made  the  subject  of  lamentation  in  prose  and  verse — chiefly 
through  political  motives. 

Of  the  twenty-one  prisoners,  the  two  most  important  were 
an  officer  of  some  consequence  named  Drouillon,  and  the  subtle 
and  redoubtable  La  Force.  As  Washington  considered  the 
latter  an  arch  mischief-maker,  he  was  rejoiced  to  have  him  in 
his  power.  La  Force  and  his  companion  would  fain  have  as- 
sumed the  sacred  characters  of  ambassadors,  pretending  they 
were  coming  with  a  summons  to  him  to  depart  from  the  ter- 
ritories belonging  to  the  crown  of  France. 

Unluckily  for  their  pretensions,  a  letter  of  instructions, 
found  on  Jumonville,  betrayed  their  real  errand,  which  was  to 
inform  themselves  of  the  roads,  rivers,  and  other  features  of 
the  country  as  far  as  the  Potomac  ;  to  send  back  from  time  to 
time,  by  fleet  messengers,  all  the  information  they  could  collect, 
and  to  give  word  of  the  day  on  which  they  intended  to  serve 
the  summons. 

Their  conduct  had  been  conformable.  Instead  of  coming  in 
a  direct  and  open  manner  to  his  encampment,  when  they  had 
ascertained  where  it  was,  and  delivering  their  summons,  as  they 
would  have  done  had  their  designs  been  frank  and  loyal,  they 
had  moved  back  two  miles,  to  one  of  the  most  secret  retire- 
ments, better  for  a  deserter  than  an  ambassador  to  encamp  in, 
and  stayed  there,  within  five  miles  of  his  camp,  sending  spies 
to  reconnoiter  it,  and  despatching  messengers  to  Contrecoeur  to 
inform  him  of  its  position  and  numerical  strength,  to  the  end, 
no  doubt,  that  he  might  send  a  sufficient  detachment  to  enforce 


72  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  summons  as  soon  as  it  should  he  given.  In  fact,  the  foot 
prints  which  had  first  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  French  lurk- 
ing-place, were  those  of  two  "  runners "  or  swift  messengers, 
sent  by  Jumonville  to  the  fort  on  the  Ohio. 

It  would  seem  that  La  Force,  after  all,  was  hut  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  his  commanding  officers,  and  not  in  their 
full  confidence  ;  for  when  the  commission  and  instructions  found 
on  Jumonville  were  read  before  him,  he  professed  not  to  have 
seen  them  before,  and  acknowledged,  with  somewhat  of  an  air 
of  ingenuousness,  that  he  believed  they  had  a  hostile  ten- 
dency.* 

Upon  the  whole,  it  was  the  opinion  of  Washington  and  his 
officers  that  the  summons,  on  which  so  much  stress  was  laid, 
was  a  mere  specious  pretext  to  mask  their  real  designs  and  be 
used  as  occasion  might  require.  "  That  they  were  spies  rather 
than  anything  else,''  and  were  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war. 

The  half -king  joined  heartily  in  this  opinion :  indeed,  had 
the  fate  of  the  prisoners  been  in  his  hands,  neither  diplomacy 
nor  anything  else  would  have  been  of  avail.  "  They  came  with 
hostile  intentions,"  he  said ;  "  they  had  bad  hearts,  and  if  his 
English  brothers  were  so  foolish  as  to  let  them  go,  he  would 
never  aid  in  taking  another  Frenchman." 

The  prisoners  were  accordingly  conducted  to  the  camp  at  the 
Great  Meadows,  and  sent  on  the  following  day  (29th),  under  a 
strong  escort  to  Governor  Dinwiddle,  then  at  Winchester. 
Washington  had  treated  them  with  great  courtesy;  had 
furnished  Drouillon  and  La  Force  with  clothing  from  his  own 
scanty  stock,  and,  at  their  request,  given  them  letters  to  the 
governor,  bespeaking  for  them  "  the  respect  and  favor  due  to 
their  character  and  personal  merit." 

A  sense  of  duty,  however,  obliged  him,  in  his  general  de- 
spatch, to  put  the  governor  on  his  guard  against  La  Force.  "I 
really  think,  if  released,  he  would  do  more  to  our  disservice  than 
fifty  other  men,  as  he  is  a  person  whose  active  spirit  leads  him 
into  all  parties,  and  has  brought  him  acquainted  with  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Add  to  this  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Indian 
tongue,  and  great  influence  with  the  Indians." 

After  the  departure  of  the  prisoners,  he  wrote  again  respect- 
ing them :  "  I  have  still  stronger  presumption,  indeed  almost 
confirmation,  that  they  were  sent  as  spies,  and  were  ordered  to 
wait  near  us,  till  they  were  full}^  informed  of  our  intentions, 
situation  and  strength,  and  were  to  have  acquainted  their  com- 

*  Washington's  letter  to  Dinwiddle,  29th  May,  1754. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  73 

mander  tlierevvitli,  and  to  have  been  lurking  here  for  reinforce- 
ments before  they  served  the  summons,  if  served  at  alL 

"  I  doubt  not  but  they  will  endeavor  to  amuse  you  with 
many  smooth  stories,  as  they  did  me  ;  but  they  were  confuted  in 
them  all,  and,  by  circumstances  too  plain  to  be  denied,  almost 
made  ashamed  of  their  assertions. 

"  I  have  heard  since  they  went  away,  they  should  say  they 
called  on  us  not  to  fire  ;  but  that  I  know  to  be  false,  for  I  was 
the  first  man  that  approached  them,  and  the  first  whom  they 
saw,  and  immediately  they  ran  to  their  arms,  and  fired  briskly 
till  they  were  defeated."  .  ..."  I  fancy  they  will  have 
the  assurance  of  asking  the  privileges  due  to  an  embassy,  when 
in  strict  justice  they  ought  to  be  hanged  as  spies  of  the  worst 
sort." 

The  situation  of  Washington  was  now  extremely  perilous. 
Contrecoeur,  it  was  said,  had  nearly  a  thousand  men  with  him 
at  the  fort,  besides  Indian  allies ;  and  reinforcements  were  on 
the  way  to  join  him.  The  messengers  sent  by  Jumonville, 
previous  to  the  late  affair,  must  have  apprised  him  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  encampment  on  the  Great  Meadows.  Washington 
hastened  to  strengthen  it.  He  wrote  by  express  also  to  Col- 
onel Fry,  who  lay  ill  at  Wills'  Creek,  urging  instant  reinforce- 
ments ;  l3ut  declaring  his  resolution  to  "fight  with  very  un- 
equal numbers  rather  than  give  up  one  inch  of  what  he  had 
gained. 

The  half-king  was  full  of  fight.  He  sent  the  scalps  of  the 
Frenchmen  slain  in  the  late  skirmish,  accompanied  by  black 
wampum  hatchets,  to  all  his  allies,  summoning  them  to  take 
up  arms  and  join  him  at  Redstone  Creek,  "for  their  brothers, 
the  English,  had  now  begun  in  earnest."  It  is  said  he  would 
even  have  sent  the  scalps  of  the  prisoners  had  not  Washington 
interfered.*  He  went  off  for  his  home,  promising  to  send  down 
the  river  for  all  the  Mingoes  and  Shawnees,  and  to  be  back  at 
the  camp  on  the  30th,  with  thirty  or  forty  warriors,  accompanied 
by  their  wives  and  children.  To  assist  him  in  the  transporta- 
tion of  his  people  and  their  effects  thirty  men  were  detached, 
and  twenty  horses. 

"  I  shall  expect  every  hour  to  be  attacked,"  writes  Washington 
to  Governor  Dinwiddle,  on  the  29th,  "  and  by  unequal  numbers, 
which  I  must  withstand,  if  there  are  five  to  one,  for  I  fear  the 
consequence  will  be  that  we  shall  lose  the  Indians  if  we  suffer 
ourselves  to  be  driven  back.  Your  honor  may  depend  I  will 
not  be  surprised,  let  them  come  at  what  hour  they  will,  and 

*  Letter  from  Virginia.     London  Mag.  1754. 


74  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

this  is  as  much  as  I  can  promise  ;  but  my  best  endeavors  shall 
not  be  wanting  to  effect  more.  I  doubt  not,  if  you  hear  I  am 
beaten,  but  you  will  hear  at  the  same  time  that  we  have  done 
our  duty  in  fighting  as  long  as  there  is  a  shadow  of  hope." 

The  fact  is,  that  Washington  was  in  a  high  state  of  military 
e:S:citement.  He  was  a  young  soldier ;  had  been  for  the  first 
time  in  action,  and  been  successful.  The  letters  we  have 
already  quoted  show,  in  some  degree,  the  fervor  of  his  mind, 
and  his  readiness  to  brave  the  worst ;  but  a  short  letter  written 
to  one  of  his  brothers,  on  the  31st,  lays  open  the  recesses  of  his 
heart. 

"  We  expect  every  hour  to  be  attacked  by  superior  force  ;  but 
if  they  forbear  but  one  day  longer  we  shall  be  prepared  for 

them We   have   already    got   intrenchments,    and   are 

about  a  palisade,  which,  I  hope,  will  be  finished  to-day.  The 
Mingoes  have  struck  the  French,  and,  I  hope,  will  give  a  good 
blow  before  they  have  done.  I  expect  forty  odd  of  them  here 
to  night,  which,  with  our  fort  and  some  reinforcements  from 
Colonel  Fry,  will  enable  us  to  exert  our  noble  courage  with 
spirit." 

Alluding  in  a  postcript  to  the  late  affair,  he  adds :  *^  I  fort- 
unately escaped  without  any  wound ;  for  the  right  wing,  where 
I  stood,  was  exposed  to,  and  received  all  the  enemy's  fire ;  and 
it  was  the  part  where  the  man  was  killed  and  the  rest  wounded. 
1  heard  the  bullets  whistle,  and,  believe  me,  there  is  something 
charming  in  the  soundP 

This  rodomontade,  as  Horace  Walpole  terms  it,  reached  the 
ears  of  George  II.  "  He  would  not  say  so,"  observed  the  king, 
dryly,  ^^  if  he  had  been  used  to  hear  many."  ^ 

Washington  himself  thought  so  when  more  experienced  in 
warfare.  Being  asked,  many  years  afterwards,  whether  he 
really  had  made  such  a  speech  about  the  whistling  of  bullets, 
"If  I  said  so,"  replied  he  quietly,  "it  was  when  I  was  young,"t 
He  was,  indeed,  but  twenty-two  years  old  when  he  said  it ;  it 
was  just  after  his  first  battle ;  he  was  flushed  with  success, 
and  was  writing  to  a  brother. 

*  This  anecdote  has  hitherto  rested  on  the  authority  of  Horace  Wal- 
pole, who  gives  it  in  his  memoirs  of  George  II.,  and  in  his  correspond- 
ence. He  cites  the  rodomontade  as  contained  in  the  express  despatched 
by  Washington,  whom  he  pronounces  a  "brave  braggart."  As  no  de- 
spatch of  Washington  contains  any  rodomontade  of  the  kind,  as  it  is 
quite  at  variance  with  the  general  tenor  of  his  character,  and  as  Horace 
Walpole  is  well  known  to  have  been  a  "great  gossip  dealer,"  apt  to 
catch  up  any  idle  rumor  that  would  give  piquancy  to  a  paragraph,  the 
story  has  been  held  in  great  distrust.  We  met  with  the  letter  recently, 
however,  in  a  column  of  the  London  Magazine  for  1754,  page  370,  into 
which  it  must  have  found  its  way  not  long  after  it  was  written, 

i  drn-rtinn      TTisf     Am     Wnv    vnl     ii     r>    905? 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  75 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

SCARCITY    IN    THE    CAMP. DEATH    OF  COLONEL   FRY. PROMO- 
TIONS.  MACKAY  AND  HIS  INDEPENDENT  COMPANY. MAJOR 

MUSE. —  INDIAN    CEREMONIALS. PUBLIC  PRAYERS  IN    CAMP. 

ALARMS. INDEPENDENCE  OF  AN  INDEPENDENT  COMPANY. 

AFFAIRS    AT  THE    GREAT    MEADOWS. DESERTION    OF  THE 

INDIAN  ALLIES. CAPITULATION    OF  FORT    NECESSITY. VAN 

BRAAM    AS    AN     INTERPRETER. INDIAN    PLUNDERERS. RE- 
TURN TO    WILLIAMSBURG. VOTE  OF  THANKS  OF    THE  HOUSE 

OF  BURGESSES. SUBSEQUENT  FORTUNES  OF    THE  HALF-KING. 

COMMENTS  ON  THE  AFFAIR  OF  JUMONVILLE  AND  THE  CON- 
DUCT OF  VAN  BRAAM. 

Scarcity  began  to  prevail  in  the  camp.  Contracts  had  been 
made  with  George  Croghan  for  flour,  of  which  he  had  large 
quantities  at  his  frontier  establishment ;  for  he  was  now  trad- 
ing with  the  army  as  well  as  with  the  Indians.  None,  how- 
ever, made  its  appearance.  There  was  mismanagement  in  the 
commissariat.  At  one  time  the  troops  were  six  days  without 
flour:  and  even  then  had  only  a  casual  supply  from  an  Ohio 
trader.  In  this  time  of  scarcity  the  half-king,  his  fellow-sachem 
Scarooyadi,  and  thirty  or  forty  warriors,  arrived,  bringing  with 
them  their  wives  and  children — so  many  more  hungry  mouths 
to  be  supplied.  Washington  wrote  urgently  to  Croghan  to  send 
forward  all  the  flour  he  could  furnish. 

News  came  of  the  death  of  Colonel  Fry  at  Wills'  Creek,  and 
that  he  was  to  be  succeeded  in  command  of  the  expedition  by 
Colonel  James  Innes  of  North  Carolina,  who  was  actually  at 
Winchester  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  North  Carolina  troops. 
Washington,  who  felt  the  increasing  responsibilities  and  diffi- 
culties of  his  situation,  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  being  under 
the  command  of  an  experienced  officer,  who  had  served  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother  Lawrence  at  the  siege  of  Carthagena. 
The  colonel,  however,  never  came  to  the  camp,  nor  did  the 
North  Carolina  troops  render  any  service  in  the  campaign — the 
fortunes  of  which  might  otherwise  have  been  very  different. 

By  the  death  of  Fry  the  command  of  the  regiment  devolved 
on  Washington.  Finding  a  blank  major's  commission  among 
Fry's  papers,  he  gave  it  to  Captain  Adam  Stephen,  who  had 


76  LIFE  OF  WASIItNGTON. 

conducted  himself  with  spirit.  As  there  would  necessarily  be 
other  changes,  he  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddle  in  behalf  of 
Jacob  Van  Braam.  "He  has  acted  as  captain  ever  since  we 
left  Alexandria.  He  is  an  experienced  officer,  and  worthy  of 
the  command  he  has  enjoyed." 

The  palisaded  fort  was  now  completed,  and  was  named  Fort 
Necessity,  from  the  pinching  famine  that  had  prevailed  during 
its  construction.  The  scanty  force  in  camp  was  augmented  to 
three  hundred,  by  the  arrival  from  Wills'  Creek  of  the  men 
who  had  been  under  Colonel  Fry.  With  them  came  the  surgeon 
of  the  regiment.  Dr.  James  Craik,  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  and 
one  destined  to  become  a  faithful  and  confidential  friend  of 
Washington  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

A  letter  from  Governor  Dinwiddle  announced,  however,  that 
Captain  Mackay  would  soon  arrive  with  an  independent  com- 
pany of  one  hundred  men,  from  South  Carolina. 

The  title  of  independent  company  had  a  sound  ominous  of 
trouble.  Troops  of  the  kind,  raised  in  the  colonies,  under  di- 
rection of  the  governors,  were  paid  by  the  Crown,  and  the  offi- 
cers had  king's  commissions ;  such,  doubtless,  had  Captain 
Mackay.  "I  should  have  been  particularly  obliged,"  writes 
Washington  to  Governor  Dinwiddle,  "if  you  had  declared 
whether  he  was  under  my  command,  or  independent  of  it.  I 
hope  he  will  have  more  sense  than  to  insist  upon  any  unreason- 
able distinction,  because  he  and  his  officers  have  commissions 
from  His  Majesty.  Let  him  consider,  though  we  are  greatly 
inferior  in  respect  to  advantages  of  profit,  yet  we  have  the 
same  spirit  to  serve  our  gracious  king  as  they  have,  and  are  as 
ready  and  willing  to  sacrifice  our  lives  for  our  country's  good. 
And  here,  once  more,  and  for  the  last  time,  I  must  say,  that  it 
will  be  a  circumstance  which  will  act  upon  some  officers  of  this 
regiment,  above  all  measure,  to  be  obliged  to  serve  upon  such 
difierent  terms,  when  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  oper- 
ations are  equally,  and,  I  dare  say,  as  effectually  exposed  as 
those  of  others,  who  are  happy  enough  to  have  the  king's  com- 
mission." 

On  the  9th  arrived  Washington's  early  instructor  in  military 
tactics,  Adjutant  Muse,  recently  appointed  a  major  in  the  regi- 
ment. He  was  accompanied  by  Montour,  the  Indian  interpre- 
ter, now  a  provincial  captain,  and  brought  with  him  nine 
swivelSj  and  a  small  supply  of  powder  and  ball.  Fifty  or  sixty 
horses,  were  forthwith  sent  to  Wills'  Creek,  to  bring  on  further 
supplies,  and  Mr.  Gist  was  urged  to  hasten  forward  the  artillery. 

Major  Muse  was  likewise  the  bearer  of  a  belt  of  wampum 
and  a  speech,  from  Governor  Dinwiddle  to  the  half-king  ;  with 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  77 

medals  for  the  chiefs,  and  goods  for  presents  among  the  friendly 
Indians,  a  measure  which  had  been  suggested  by  Washington. 
They  were  distributed  with  that  grand  ceremonial  so  dear  to 
the  red  man.  The  chiefs  assembled,  painted  and  decorated  in 
all  their  savage  finery  ;  Washington  wore  a  medal  sent  him  by 
the  governor  for  such  occasions.  The  wampum  and  speech 
having  been  delivered,  he  advanced,  and  with  all  due  solemnity 
decorated  the  chiefs  and  warriors  with  the  medals,  which  they 
were  to  wear  in  remembrance  of  their  father  the  king  of 
England. 

Among  the  warriors  thus  decorated  was  a  son  of  Queen  Ali- 
quippa,  the  savage  princess  whose  good  graces  Washington  had 
secured  in  the  preceding  year  by  the  present  of  an  old  watch- 
coat,  and  whose  friendship  was  important,  her  town  being  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  French  fort.  She  had  requested  that 
her  son  might  be  admitted  into  the  war  councils  of  the  camp, 
and  receive  an  English  name.  The  name  of  Fairfax  was  ac- 
cordingly given  to  him,  in  the  customary  Indian  form ;  the 
half-king  being  desirous  of  like  distinction,  received  the  name 
of  Dinwiddle.  The  sachems  returned  the  compliment  in  kind, 
by  giving  Washington  the  name  of  Connotaucarius  ;  the  mean- 
ing of  which  is  not  explained. 

William  Fairfax,  Washington's  paternal  adviser,  had  recently 
counselled  him,  by  letter,  to  have  public  prayers  in  his  camp  ; 
especially  when  there  were  Indian  families  there  ;  this  was  ac- 
cordingly done  at  the  encampment  in  the  Great  Meadows,  and 
it  certainly  was  not  one  of  the  least  striking  pictures  presented 
in  this  wild  campaign — the  youthful  commander,  presiding 
with  calm  seriousness  over  a  motley  assemblage  of  half-equipped 
soldiery,  leathern-clad  hunters  and  woodsmen,  and  painted 
savages  with  their  wives  and  children,  and  uniting  them"  all  in 
solemn  devotion  by  his  own  example  and  demeanor. 

On  the  10th  there  w^as  agitation  in  the  camp.  Scouts  hurried 
in  with  word,  as  Washington  understood  them,  that  a  party  of 
ninety  Frenchmen  were  approaching.  He  instantly  ordered 
out  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  his  best  men  ;  put  himself  at  their 
head,  and  leaving  Major  Muse  with  the  rest,  to  man  the  fort 
and  mount  the  swivels,  sallied  forth  "  in  the  full  hope,''  as  he 
afterwards  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddle,  '^  of  procuring  him 
another  present  of  French  prisoners." 

It  was  another  effervescence  of  his  youthful  military  ardor, 
and  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  report  of  the  scouts  had 
been  either  exaggerated  or  misunderstood.  The  ninety 
Frenchmen  in  military  array  dwindled  down  into  nine  French 
deserters. 


78  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

According  to  their  account,  the  fort  at  the  Fork  was  com- 
pleted, and  named  Duquesne,  in  honor  of  the  Governor  of  Can- 
ada. It  was  proof  against  all  attack,  excepting  with  bombs,  on 
the  land  side.  The  garrison  did  not  exceed  five  hundred,  but 
two  hundred  more  were  hourly  expected,  and  nine  hundred  in 
the  course  of  a  fortnight. 

Washington's  suspicions  with  respect  to  La  Force's  party  were 
justified  by  the  report  of  these  deserters  ;  they  had  been  sent 
out  as  spies,  and  were  to  show  the  summons  if  discovered  or 
overpowered.  The  French  commander,  they  added,  had  been 
blamed  for  sending  out  so  small  a  party. 

On  the  same  day  Captain  Mackay  arrived,  with  his  independ- 
ent company  of  South  Carolinians.  The  cross-purposes  which 
Washington  had  apprehended,  soon  manifested  themselves. 
The  captain  was  civil  and  well  disposed,  but  full  of  formalities 
and  points  of  etiquette.  Holding  a  commission  direct  from  the 
king,  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  acknowledge  a  provincial 
officer  as  his  superior.  He  encamped  separately,  kept  separate 
guards,  would  not  agree  that  Washington  should  assign  any 
rallying  place  for  his  men  in  case  of  alarm,  and  objected  to 
receive  from  him  the  parole  and  countersign,  though  necessary 
for  their  common  safety 

Washington  conducted  himself  with  circumspection,  avoiding 
everything  that  might  call  up  a  question  of  command,  and 
reasoning  calmly  whenever  such  question  occurred ;  but  he 
urged  the  governor,  by  letter,  to  prescribe  their  relative  rank 
and  authority.  "  He  tliinks  you  have  not  a  power  to  give  com- 
missions that  will  command  him.  If  so,  I  can  very  confidently 
say  that  his  absence  would  tend  to  the  public  advantage." 

On  the  11th  of  June,  Washington  resumed  the  laborious 
march'  for  Redstone  Creek.  As  Captain  Mackay  could  not 
oblige  his  men  to  work  on  the  road  unless  they  were  allowed 
a  shilling  sterling  a  day,  and  as  Washington  did  not  choose 
to  pay  this,  nor  to  suffer  them  to  march  at  their  ease  while 
his  own  faithful  soldiers  were  laboriously  employed,  he  left 
the  captain  and  his  independent  company  as  a  guard  at  Fort 
Necessity,  and  undertook  to  complete  the  military  road  with 
his  own  men. 

Accordingly,  he  and  his  Virginia  troops  toiled  forward 
through  the  narrow  defiles  of  the  mountains,  working  on  the 
road  as  they  went.  Scouts  were  sent  out  in  all  directions,  to 
prevent  surprise.  While  on  the  march  he  was  continually  beset 
by  sachems,  with  their  tedious  ceremonials  and  speeches,  all 
to  very  little  purpose.  Some  of  these  chiefs  were  secretly  in 
the  French  interest ;  few  rendered  any  real  assistance,  and  all 
expected  presents. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  79 

At  Grist's  establishment,  about  thirteen  miles  from  Fort 
ISTecessity,  Washington  received  certain  intelligence  that  ample 
reinforcements  had  arrived  at  Fort  Duquesne,  and  a  large  force 
would  instantly  be  detached  against  him.  Coming  to  a  halt, 
he  began  to  throw  up  intrench ments,  calling  in  two  foraging 
parties,  and  sending  word  to  Captain  Mackay  to  join  him  with 
all  speed.  The  captain  and  his  company  arrived  in  the  even- 
ing ;  the  foraging  parties  the  next  morning.  A  council  of  war 
was  held,  in  which  the  idea  of  awaiting  the  enemy  at  this 
place  was  unanimously  abandoned. 

A  rapid  and  toilsome  retreat  ensued.  There  was  a  defi- 
ciency of  horses.  Washington  gave  up  his  own  to  aid  in  trans- 
porting the  military  munitions,  leaving  his  baggage  to  be 
brought  on  by  soldiers,  whom  he  paid  liberally.  The  other 
officers  followed  his  example.  The  weather  was  sultry;  the 
roads  were  rough  ;  provisions  were  scanty,  an4  the  men 
dispirited  by  hunger.  The  Virginia  soldiers  took  turns  to 
drag  the  swivels,  but  felt  almost  insulted  by  the  conduct  of  the 
South  Carolinians,  who,  piquing  themselves  upon  their  as- 
sumed privileges  as  '•  king's  soldiers,"  sauntered  along  at  their 
ease;  refusing  to  act  as  pioneers,  or  participate  in  the  extra 
labors  incident  to  a  hurried  retreat. 

On  the  1st  of  July  they  reached  the  Great  Meadows.  Here 
the  Virginians,  exhausted  by  fatigue,  hunger,  and  vexation, 
declared  they  would  carry  the  baggage  and  drag  the  swivels 
no  further.  Contrary  to  his  original  intentions,  therefore, 
Washington  determined  to  halt  here  for  the  present,  and 
fortify,  sending  off  expresses  to  hasten  supplies  and  reinforce- 
ments from  Wills'  Creek,  where  he  had  reason  to  believe  that 
two  independent  companies  from  New  York  were  by  this  time 
arrived. 

The  retreat  to  the  Great  Meadows  had  not  been  in  the  least 
too  precipitate.  Captain  de  Villiers,  a  brother-in-law  of  Jumon- 
A'ille,  had  actually  sallied  forth  from  Fort  Duquesne  at  the 
head  of  upwards  of  five  hundred  French,  and  several  hundred 
Indians,  eager  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  relative.  Arriving 
about  dawn  of  day  at  Gist's  plantation,  he  surrounded  the 
Avorks  which  Washington  had  hastily  thrown  up  there,  and 
fired  into  them.  Finding  them  deserted,  he  concluded  that 
those  of  whom  he  came  in  search  had  made  good  their  retreat  to 
the  settlements,  and  it  was  too  late  to  pursue  them.  He  was 
on  the  point  of  returning  to  Fort  Duquesne,  when  a  deserter 
arrived,  who  gave  word  that  Washington  had  come  to  a 
halt  in  the  Great  Meadows,  where  his  troops  were  in  a  starv- 
ing   condition  ;    for    his    own   part,    he    added,    hearing   that 


80  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  French  were  coming,  he  had  deserted  to  them  to  escape 
starvation. 

De  Villiers  ordered  the  fellow  into  confinement;  to  be  re- 
warded if  his  words  proved  true,  otherwise  to  be  hanged.  He 
then  pushed  forward  for  the  Great  Meadows.* 

In  the  meantime  Washington  had  exerted  himself  to  en- 
large and  strengthen  Fort  Necessity,  nothing  of  which  had 
been  done  by  Captain  Mackay  and  his  men,  while  encamped 
there.  The  fort  was  about  a  hundred  feet  square,  protected 
by  trenches  and  palisades.  It  stood  on  the  margin  of  a  small 
stream,  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  Great  Meadows,  which  is  a 
grassy  plain,  perfectly  level,  surrounded  by  wooded  hills  of  a 
moderate  height,  and  at  that  place  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  wide.  Washington  asked  no  assistance  from  the 
South  Carolina  troops,  but  set  to  work  with  his  Virginians, 
animating  them  by  word  and  example  ;  sharing  in  the  labor  of 
felling  trees,  hewing  off  the  branches,  and  rolling  up  the  trunks 
to  form  a  breastwork. 

At  this  critical  juncture  he  was  deserted  by  his  Indian 
allies.  They  were  disheartened  at  the  scanty  preparations  for 
defense  against  a  superior  force,  and  offended  at  being  sub- 
jected to  military  command.  The  half-king  thought  he  had 
not  been  sufficiently  consulted,  and  that  his  advice  had  not 
been  sufficiently  followed ;  such,  at  least,  were  some  of  the 
reasons  which  he  subsequently  gave  for  abandoning  the  youth- 
ful commander  on  the  approach  of  danger.  The  true  reason 
was  a  desire  to  put  his  wife  and  children  in  a  place  of  safety. 
Most  of  his  warriors  followed  his  example ;  very  few,  and 
those  probably  who  had  no  families  at  risk,  remained  in  the 
camp. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  3d,  while  Washington  and  his 
men  were  working  on  the  fort,  a  sentinel  came  in  wounded  and 
bleeding,  having  been  fired  upon.  Scouts  brought  word  shortly 
afterwards  that  the  French  were  in  force,  about  four  miles  off. 
Washington  drew  up  his  men  on  level  ground  outside  of  the 
works,  to  await  their  attack.  About  11  o'clock  there  was  a 
firing  of  musketry  from  among  trees  on  rising  ground,  but  so 
distant  as  to  do  no  harm  ;  suspecting  this  to  be  a  stratagem 
designed  to  draw  his  men  into  the  woods,  he  ordered  them  to 
keep  quiet  and  refrain  from  firing  until  the  foe  •  should  show 
themselves,  and  draw  near. 

The  firing  was  kept  up,  but  still  under  cover.  He  now  fell 
back  with  his  men  into  the  trenches,  ordering  them  to  fire 
whenever  they  could  get  sight  of  an  enemy.  In  this  way  there 
^  Hazard's  Register  of  Pennsylvania ^  vol,  iv,  p.  22. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  81 

was  skirmislnng  throughout  the  day  ;  the  French  and  Indians 
advancing  as  near  as  the  covert  of  the  woods  would  permit, 
Avhich  in  the  nearest  place  was  sixty  yards,  hut  never  into  open 
sight.  In  the  meanwhile  the  rain  fell  in  torrents  ;  the  harassed 
and  jaded  troops  were  half  drowned  in  their  trenches,  and  many 
of  their  muskets  were  rendered  unfit  for  use. 

Ahout  eight  at  night  the  Trench  requested  a  parley.  Wash- 
ington hesitated.  It  might  be  a  stratagem  to  gain  admittance 
for  a  spy  into  the  fort.  The  request  was  repeated,  with  the 
addition  that  an  officer  might  be  sent  to  treat  with  them,  under 
their  parole  for  his  safety.  Unfortunately  the  Chevalier  de 
Peyrouney,  engineer  of  the  regiment,  and  the  only  one  who 
could  speak  French  correct!}^,  was  wounded  and  disabled. 
Washington  had  to  send,  therefore,  his  ancient  swordsman  and 
interpreter,  Jacob  Van  Braam.  The  captain  returned  twice 
with  separate  terms,  in  which  the  garrison  was  required  to  sur- 
render;  both  were  rejected.  He  returned  a  third  time,  with 
written  articles  of  capitulation.  They  were  in  French.  As  no 
implements  for  writing  were  at  hand.  Van  Braam  undertook  to 
translate  them  by  word  of  mouth.  A  candle  was  brought,  and 
held  close  to  the  paper  while  he  read.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents  y 
it  was  difficult  to  keep  the  light  from  being  extinguished.  The 
captain  rendered  the  capitulation,  article  by  article,  in  mongrel 
English,  while  Washington  and  his  officers  stood  listening, 
endeavoring  to  disentangle  the  meaning.  One  article  stipu- 
lated that  on  surrendering  the  fort  they  should  leave  all  their 
military  stores,  munitions,  and  artillery  in  possession  of  the 
French.     This  was  objected  to,  and  was  readily  modified. 

The  main  articles,  as  Washington  and  his  officers  understood 
them,  were,  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  return  to  the  set- 
tlements without  molestation  from  French  or  Indians.  That 
they  should  march  out  of  the  fort  with  the  honors  of  war, 
drums  beating  and  colors  flying,  and  with  all  their  effects  and 
military  stores  excepting  the  artillery,  which  should  be  de- 
stroyed. That  they  should  be  allowed  to  deposit  their  effects  in 
some  secret  place,  and  leave  a  guard  to  protect  them  until  they 
could  send  horses  to  bring  them  away — their  horses  having 
been  nearly  all  killed  or  lost  during  the  action.  That  they 
should  give  their  word  of  honor  not  to  attempt  any  buildings 
or  improvements  on  the  lands  of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty, 
for  the  space  of  a  year.  That  the  prisoners  taken  in  the  skir- 
mish of  Jumonville  should  be  restored,  and  until  their  delivery 
Captain  Van  Braam  and  Captain  Stobo  should  remain  with  the 
French  as  hostages. "^ 

*  Horace  Walpole  J  in  a  flippant  notice  of  this  capitulation,  says:  "  The 


82  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  next  morning,  accordingly,  Washington  and  his  men 
marched  out  of  their  forlorn  fortress  with  the  honors  of  war, 
bearing  with  them  their  regimental  colors,  but  leaving  behind 
a  large  flag,  too  cumbrous  to  be  transported.  Scarcely  had  they 
begun  their  march,  however,  when  in  defiance  of  the  terms  of 
capitulation,  they  were  beset  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  allies 
to  the  French,  who  began  plundering  the  baggage,  and  commit- 
ting other  irregularities.  Seeing  that  the  French  did  not,  or 
could  not,  prevent  them,  and  that  all  the  baggage  which  could 
not  be  transported  on  the  shoulders  of  his  troops  would  fall  into 
the  hands  of  these  savages,  Washington  ordered  it  to  be  de- 
stroyed, as  well  as  the  artillery,  gunpowder,  and  other  military 
stores.  All  this  detained  him  until  ten  o'clock,  when  he  set 
out  on  his  melancholy  march.  He  had  not  proceeded  above  a 
mile  when  two  or  three  of  the  wounded  men  were  reported  to 
be  missing.  He  immediately  detached  a  few  men  back  in  quest 
of  them,  and  continued  on  until  three  miles  from  Fort  Neces- 
sity, where  he  encamped  for  the  night,  and  was  rejoined  by 
the  stragglers. 

In  this  affair,  out  of  the  Virginia  regiment,  consisting  of 
three  hundred  and  five  men,  officers  included,  twelve  had  been 
killed,  and  forty-three  wounded.  The  number  killed  and 
wounded  in  Captain  Mackay's  company  is  not  known.  The 
loss  of  the  French  and  Indians  is  supposed  to  have  been  much 
greater. 

In  the  following  day's  march  the  troops  seemed  jaded  and 
disheartened;  they  were  encumbered  and  delayed  by  the 
wounded  ;  provisions  were  scanty,  and  they  had  seventy  weary 
miles  to  accomplish  before  they  could  meet  with  supplies. 
Washington,  however,  encouraged  them  by  his  own  steadfast 
and  cheerful  demeanor,  and  by  sharing  all  their  toils  and  pri- 
vations ;  and  at  length  conducted  them  in  safety  to  Wills' 
Creek,  where  they  found  ample  provisions  in  the  military  maga- 
zines. Leaving  them  here  to  recover  their  strength,  he  pro- 
ceeded with  Captain  Mackay  to  Williamsburg,  to  make  his 
military  report  to  the  governor. 

A  copy  of  the  capitulation  was  subsequently  laid  before  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  with  explanations.  Notwith- 
standing the  unfortunate  result  of  the  campaign,  the  conduct 
of  Washington  and  his  officers  was  properly  appreciated,  and 
they  received  a  vote  of  thanks  for  their  bravery,  and  gallant 
defense   of   their   country.      Three   hundred   pistoles    (nearly 

French  have  tied  up  the  hands  of  an  excellent /an/arow,  a  Major  Wash- 
ington, whom  they  took  and  engaged  not  to  serve  for  one  year."  {Cor- 
respondence,  vol.  iii.  p.  73.)  \Valpole,  at  this  early  date,  seems  to  have 
considered  Washington  a  perfect  fire-eater. 


LIFE  OF  WASTTINGTON.  83 

eleven  hundred  dollars)  also  were  voted  to  be  distributed  among 
the  privates  who  had  been  in  action. 

From  the  vote  of  thanks  two  officers  were  excepted ;  Major 
Muse,  who  was  charged  with  cowardice,  and  Washington's  un- 
fortunate master  of  fence  and  blundering  interpreter,  Jacob 
Van  Braam,  who  was  accused  of  treacher}'-,  in  purposely  mis- 
interpreting the  articles  of  capitulation. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  we  will  anticipate  dates  to  record 
the  fortunes  of  the  half -king  after  his  withdrawal  from  the  camp. 
Pie  and  several  of  his  warriors,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
retreated  to  Aughquick,  in  the  back  part  of  Pennsylvania,  where 
George  Croghan  had  an  agency,  and  was  allowed  money  from 
time  to  time  for  the  maintenance  of  Indian  allies.  By  the  by, 
Washington,  in  his  letter  to  William  Fairfax,  expressed  himself 
much  disappointed  in  Croghan  and  Montour,  who  proved,  he 
said,  to  be  great  pretenders,  "  and  by  vainly  boasting  of  their 
interest  with  the  Indians,  involved  the  country  in  greiat  calam- 
ity, causing  dependence  to  be  placed  where  there  was  none."  * 
For,  with  all  their  boast,  they  never  could  induce  above  thirty 
fighting  men  to  join  the  camp,  and  not  more  than  half  of  those 
rendered  any  service. 

As  to  the  half-king,  he  expressed  himself  perfectly  disgusted 
with  the  white  man's  mode  of  warfare.  The  French,  he  said, 
were  cowards ;  the  English,  fools.  Washington  was  a  good 
man,  but  wanted  experience  :  he  would  not  take  advice  of  the 
Indians,  and  was  always  driving  them  to  fight  according  to  his 
notions.  For  this  reason  he  (the  half-king)  had  parried  off  his 
wife  and  children  to  a  place  of  safety. 

After  a  time  the  chieftain  fell  dangerously  ill,  and  a  conjuror 
or  "  medicine  man  "  was  summoned  to  inquire  into  the  cause 
or  nature  of  his  malady.  He  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
French  had  bewitched  him,  in  revenge  for  the  great  blow  he 
had  struck  them  in  the  affair  of  Jumonville ;  for  the  Indians 
gave  him  the  whole  credit  of  that  success,  he  having  sent  round 
the  French  scalps  as  trophies.  In  the  opinion  of  the  conjurer 
all  the  friends  of  the  chieftain  concurred,  and  on  his  death, 
which  took  place  shortly  afterwards,  there  was  great  lamenta- 
tion, mingled  with  threats  of  immediate  vengeance.  The  fore- 
going particulars  are  gathered  from  a  letter  written  by  John 
Harris,  an  Indian  trader,  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  at 
the  request  of  the  half-king's  friend  and  fellow-sachem,  Mona- 
catoocha,  otherwise  called  Scarooyadi.  "  I  humbly  presume," 
concludes  John  Harris,  "  that  his  death  is  a  very  great  loss, 
especially  at  this  critical  time." 

*  Letter  to  W.  Fairfax,  Aug.  11  Lb,  1754. 

*  Pennsylvania  Archives  vol.  ii.  p.  178. 


84  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

NOTE. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  tracing  the  affair  of  the  Great  Mead- 
ows, step  by  step,  guided  by  the  statements  of  Washington  himself  and 
of  one  of  his  officers  present  in  the  engagement,  because  it  is  another 
of  the  events  in  the  early  stage  of  his  military  career,  before  the  justice 
and  magnanimity  of  his  character  were  sufficiently  established,  Avhicli 
has  been  subject  to  misrepresentation.  When  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion came  to  be  correctly  translated  and  published,  there  were  passages 
in  them  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  Washington  and  his  troops,  and  which, 
it  would  seem,  had  purposely  been  inserted  for  their  humiliation  by  the 
French  commander  ;  but  which,  they  protested,  had  never  been  rightly 
translated  by  Yan  Braam.  For  instance,  in  the  written  articles,  they 
were  made  to  stipulate  that  for  the  space  of  a  year,  they  would  not  work 
on  any  establishment  beyond  the  mountains;  whereas  it  had  been  trans- 
lated by  Van  Braam  "  on  any  establishment  on  the  lands  of  the  king  of 
France,^'  which  was  quite  another  thing,  as  most  of  the  land  beyond  the 
mountains  was  considered  by  them  as  belonging  to  the  British  crown. 
There  were  other  points,  of  minor  importance,  relative  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  artillery;  but  the  most  startling  and  objectionable  one  was 
that  concerning  the  previous  skirmish  in  the  Great  Meadows.  This  was 
mentioned  in  the  written  articles  as  Vassasslnat  du  Sieur  de  Jumonville, 
that  is  to  say,  the  murder  of  De  Jumonville:  an  expression  from  which 
Washington  and  his  officers  would  have  revolted  with  scorn  and  indig- 
nation; and  which,  if  truly  translated,  would  in  all  probability  have 
caused  the  capitulation  to  be  sent  back  instantly  to  the  French  com- 
mander. On  the  contrary,  they  declared  it  had  been  translated  to  them 
by  Van  Braam  the  death  of  De  Jumonville, 

M.  de  Villiers,  in  his  account  of  this  transaction  to  the  French  gov- 
ernment, avails  himself  of  these  passages  in  the  capitulation  to  cast  a  slur 
on  the  conduct  of  Washington.  He  says:  "We  made  the  English 
consent  to  sign  that  they  had  assassinated  my  brother  in  his  camp." — 
''We  caused  them  to  abandon  the  lands  belonging  to  the  king. — We 
obliged  them  to.leave  their  cannon,  which  consisted  of  nine  pieces," 
etc.  He  further  adds:  "  The  English,  struck  with  panic,  took  to  flight, 
and  left  their  flag  and  one  of  their  colors."  We  have  shown  that  the 
flag  left  was  the  unwieldy  one  belonging  to  the  fort,  too  cumbrous  to  be 
transported  by  troops  who  could  not  carry  their  own  necessary  baggage. 
The  regimental  colors,  as  honorable  symbols,  were  scrupulously  carried 
off  by  Washington,  and  retained  by  him  in  after  years. 

M.  de  Villiers  adds  another  incident  intended  to  degrade  his  enemy. 
He  says,  "  One  of  my  Indians  took  ten  Englishmen,  whom  he  brought 
to  me,  and  whom  I  sent  back  by  another."  These,  doubtless,  were  the 
men  detached  by  Washington  in  quest  of  the  wounded  loiterers;  and 
who,  understanding  neither  French  nor  Indian,  found  a  difficulty  in 
explaining  their  peaceful  errand.  That  they  were  captured  by  the 
Indian  seems  too  much  of  a  gasconade. 

The  public  opinion  at  the  time  was  that  Yan  Braam  had  been  sub- 
orned by  De  Villiers  to  soften  the  offensive  articles  of  the  capitulation 
in  translating  them,  so  that  they  should  not  wound  the  pride  nor  awaken 
the  scruples  of  Washington  and  his  officers,  yet  should  stand  on  record 
against  him.  It  is  not  probable  that  a  French  officer  of  De  Villiers' 
rank  would  practice  such  a  base  perfidy,  nor  does  the  subsequent  treat- 
ment experienced  by  Van  Braam  from  the  French  corroborate  the 
charge.  It  is  more  than  probable  the  inaccuracy  of  translation  origin- 
ated in  the  ignorance  of  the  precise  weight  and  value  of  words  in  the 
two  languages,  neither  of  which  was  native  to  him,  and  between  which 
he  was  the  blundering  agent  of  exchange. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  85 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FOUNDING  OF  FORT  CUMBERLAND. SECRET  LETTER  OF     STOBO. 

THE     INDIAN     MESSENGER. PROJECT  OF  DINWIDDIE. HIS 

PERPLEXITIES. A  TAINT    OF    REPUBLICANISM    IN    THE    COL- 
ONIAL   ASSEMBLIES. DINWIDDIE's     MILITARY    MEASURES. 

WASHINGTON  QUITS  THE  SERVICE. OVERTURES  OF  GOVERNOR 

SHARPE    OF    MARYLAND. WASHINGTON'S  DIGNIFIED  REPLY. 

QUESTIONS    OF    r'ANK  BETWEEN    ROYAL    AND    PROVINCIAL 

TROOPS. TREATMENT  OF  THE  FRENCH  PRISONERS. FATE  OF 

LA  FORCE. ANECDOTES  OF  STOBO    AND  VAN  BRAAM. 

Early  in  August  Washington  rejoined  his  regiment,  which 
had  arrived  at  Alexandria  by  the  way  of  Winchester.  Letters 
from  Governor  Dinwiddie  urged  him  to  recruit  it  to  the  former 
number  of  three  hundred  men,  and  join  Colonel  Innesat  Wills' 
Creek,  where  that  officer  was  stationed  with  Mackay's  inde- 
pendent company  of  South  Carolinians,  and  two  independent 
companies  from  New  York  ;  and  had  been  employed  in  erect- 
ing a  work  to  serve  as  a  frontier  post  and  rallying  point ;  which 
work  received  the  name  of  Fort  Cumberland,  in  honor  of  the 
Duke  df  Cumberland,  captain-general  of  the  British  army. 

In  the  meantime  the  Erench,  elated  by  their  recent  triumph, 
and  thinking  no  ,danger  at  hand,  relaxed  their  vigilance  at  Fort 
Duquesne.  Stobo,  who  was  a  kind  of  prisoner  at  large  there, 
found  means  to  send  a  letter  secretly  by  an  Indian,  dated  July 
28,  and  directed  to  the  commander  of  the  English  troops.  It 
was  accompanied  by  a  plan  of  the  fort.  "  There  are  two  hun- 
dred men  here,"  writes  he,  "  and  two  hundred  expected ;  the 
rest  have  gone  off  in  detachments  to  the  amount  of  one  thou- 
sand, besides  Indians.  None  lodge  in  the  fort  but  Contrecoeur 
and  the  guard,  consisting  of  forty  men  and  five  officers ;  the 
rest  lodge  in  bark  cabins  around  the  fort.  The  Indians  have 
access  day  and  night,  and  come  and  go  when  they  please.  If 
one  hundred  trusty  Shawnees,  Mingoes,  and  Delawares  were 
picked  out,  they  might  surprise  the  fort,  lodging  themselves 
under  the  palisades  by  day,  and  at  night  secure  the  guard  with 
their  tomahawks,  shut  the  sally-gate,  and  the  fort  is  ours." 

One  part  of  Stobo's  letter  breathes  a  loyal  and  generous 
spirit  of  self-devotion.     Alluding  to  the  danger  in  which  he  and 


86  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Van  Braam,  his  fellow-hostage,  might  be  involved,  he  says, 
"  Consider  the  good  of  the  exjjedition  without  regard  to  us. 
When  we  engaged  to  serve  the  country  it  was  expected  we 
were  to  do  it  with  our  lives.  Eor  my  part,  I  would  die  a  hun- 
dred deaths  to  have  the  pleasure  of  possessing  this  fort  but  one 
day.  They  are  so  vain  of  their  success  at  the  Meadows  it  is 
worse  than  death  to  hear  them.     Haste  to  strike."  * 

The  Indian  messanger  carried  the  letter  to  Aughquick  and 
delivered  it  into  the  hands  of  George  Croghan.  The  Indian 
chiefs  who  were  with  him  insisted  upon  his  opening  it.  He 
did  so,  but  on  finding  the  tenor  of  it,  transmitted  it  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Pennsylvania.  The  secret  information  communicated 
by  Stobo,  may  have  been  the  cause  of  a  project  suddenly  con- 
ceived by  Governor  Dinwiddie,  of  a  detachment  which,  by  a 
forced  march  across  the  mountains,  might  descend  upon  the 
French  and  take  Fort  Duquesne  at  a  single  blow ;  or,  failing 
that,  might  build  a  rival  fort  in  its  vicinity.  He  accordingly 
wrote  to  Washintgon  to  march  forthwith  for  Wills'  Creek,  with 
such  companies  as  were  complete,  leaving  orders  with  the  of- 
ficers to  follow  as  soon  as  they  should  have  enlisted  men  suf- 
ficient to  make  up  their  companies.  "The  season  of  the  year," 
added  he,  "  calls  for  despatch.  I  depend  upon  your  usual  dili- 
gence and  spirit  to  encourage  your  people  to  be  active  on  this 
occasion." 

The  ignorance  of  Dinwiddle  in  military  affairs,  and  his  want 
of  forecast,  led  him  perpetually  into  blunders.  Washington 
saw  the  rashness  of  an  attempt  to  dispossess  the  French  with 
a  force  so  inferior  that  it  could  be  harassed  and  driven  from 
place  to  place  at  their  pleasure.  Before  the  troops  could  be 
collected,  and  munitions  of  war  provided,  the  season  would  be 
too  far  advanced.  There  would  be  no  forage  for  the  horses  ; 
the  streams  Avould  be  swollen  and  unfordable  ;  the  mountains 
rendered  impassable  by  snow,  and  frost,  and  slippery  roads. 
The  men,  too,  unused  to  campaigning  on  the  frontier,  would 
not  be  able  to  endure  a  winter  in  the  wilderness,  with  no  better 
shelter  than  a  tent ;  especially  in  their  present  condition,  des- 
titute of  almost  everything.  Such  are  a  few  of  the  cogent 
reasons  urged  by  Washington  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  William 
Fairfax,  then  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  which  no  doubt  was 
shown  to  Governor  Dinwiddle,  and  probably  had  an  effect  in 
causing  the  rash  project  to  be  abandoned. 

The  governor,  in  truth,  was  sorely  perplexed  about  this  time 

*  Hazard's  i2egf^ster  of  Penn,  iv.  329. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  87 

by  contradictions  and  cross-purposes,  both  in  military  and  civil 
affairs.  A  body  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  North  Carolinian 
troops  had  been  enlisted  at  high  pay,  and  were  to  form  the  chief 
reinforcement  of  Colonel  Innes  at  Wills'  Creek.  By  the  time 
they  reached  Winchester,  however,  the  provincial  military 
chest  was  exhausted,  and  future  pay  seemed  uncertain  ;  where- 
upon they  refused  to  serve  any  longer,  disbanded  themselves 
tumultuousl}^,  and  set  off  for  their  homes  without  taking  leave. 

The  governor  found  the  House  of  Burgesses  equally  unman- 
ageable. His  demands  for  supplies  were  resisted  on  what  he 
considered  presumptuous  pretexts  ;  or  granted  sparingly,  un- 
der mortifying  restrictions.  His  high  Tory  notions  were  out- 
raged by  such  republican  conduct.  "  There  appears  to  me," 
said  he,  "  an  infatuation  in  all  the  assemblies  in  this  part  of 
the  world."  In  a  letter  to  the  Board  of  Trade  he  declared  that 
the  only  way  effectually  to  check  the  progress  of  the  French, 
would  be  an  act  of  parliament  requiring  the  colonies  to  contrib- 
ute to  the  common  cause,  independently  of  assemblies  ;  and  in 
another,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  he  urged  the  policy  of  com- 
pelling the  colonies  to  their  duty  to  the  king  by  a  general  poll- 
tax  of  two  and  sixpence  a  head.  The  worthy  governor  would 
have  made  a  fitting  counselor  for  the  Stuart  dynasty.  Subse- 
quent events  have  shown  how  little  his  policy  was  suited  to 
compete  with  the  dawning  republicanism  of  America. 

In  the  month  of  October  the  House  of  Burgesses  made  a 
grant  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  for  the  public  service  ;  and 
ten  thousand  more  were  sent  out  from  England,  beside  a  sup- 
ply of  fire-arms.  The  governor  now  applied  himself  to  military 
matters  with  renewed  spirit ;  increased  the  actual  force  to  ten 
companies ;  and,  as  there  had  been  difficulties  among  the 
different  kinds  of  troops  with  regard  to  precedence,  he  reduced 
them  all  to  independent  companies ;  so  that  there  would  be  no 
officer  in  a  Virginia  regiment  above  the  rank  of  captain. 

This  shrewd  measure,  upon  which  Dinwiddle  secretly  prided 
himself  as  calculated  to  put  an  end  to  the  difficulties  in  ques- 
tion, immediately  drove  Washington  out  of  the  service  ;  con- 
sidering it  derogatory  to  his  character  to  accept  a  lower  com- 
mission than  that  under  which  his  conduct  had  gained  him  a 
vote  of  thanks  from  the  Legislature. 

Governor  Sharpe  of  Maryland,  appointed  by  the  king  com- 
mander-in-chief of  all  the  forces  engaged  against  the  French, 
sought  to  secure  his  valuable  services,  and  authorized  Colonel 
Fitzhugh,  whom  he  had  placed  in  temporary  command  of  the 
army,  to  write  to  him  to   that  effect.     The  reply  of  Washing- 


88  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ton  (lotli  Nov.)  is  full  of  dignity  and  spirit,  and  shows  how 
deeply  he  felt  his  military  degradation. 

^'  You  make  mention,"  says  he,  "  of  my  continuing  in  the 
service  and  retaining  my  colonel's  commission.  This  idea  has 
filled  me  with  surj^rise  5  for  if  you  think  me  capable  of  holding 
a  commission  that  has  neither  rank  nor  emolument  annexed  to 
it,  you  must  maintain  a  very  contemptible  opinion  of  my  weak- 
ness, and  believe  me  more  empty  than  the  commission  itself." 
After  intimating  a  suspicion  that  the  project  of  reducing  the 
regiment  into  independent  companies,  and  thereby  throwing 
out  the  higher  officers,  "was  generated  and  hatched  at  Wills' 
Creek," — in  other  words,  was  an  expedient  of  Governor  Din- 
widdle, instead  of  being  a  peremptory  order  from  England,  he 
adds,  "Ingenuous  treatment  and  plain  dealing  I  at  least  ex- 
pected. It  is  to  be  hoped  the  project  will  answer;  it  shall 
meet  with  my  acquiescence  in  everything  except  personal  ser- 
vices. I  herewith  inclose  Governor  Sharpe's  letter,  which  I 
beg  you  will  return  to  him  with  my  acknowledgments  for  the 
favor  he  intended  me.  Assure  him,  sir,  as  you  truly  may,  of 
my  reluctance  to  quit  the  service,  and  the  pleasure  I  should 
have  received  in  attending  his  fortunes.  Inform  him,  also,  that 
it  was  to  obey  the  call  of  honor  and  the  advice  of  my  friends 
that  I  declined  it,  and  not  to  gratify  any  desire  I  had  to  leave 
the  military  line.     My  feelings  are  strongly  bent  to  arms." 

Even  had  Washington  hesitated  to  take  this  step,  it  would 
have  been  forced  upon  him  by  a  further  regulation  of  govern- 
ment, in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  winter,  settling  the  rank  of 
officers  of  His  Majesty's  forces  when  joined  or  serving  with  the 
provincial  forces  in  North  America,  "  which  directed  that  all 
such  as  were  commissioned  by  the  king,  or  by  his  general  com- 
mander-in-chief in  North  America,  should  take  rank  of  all 
officers  commissioned  by  the  governors  of  the  respective  pro- 
vinces. And  further,  that  the  general  and  field  officers  of  the 
provincial  troops  should  have  no  rank  when  serving  with  the 
general  and  field  officers  commissioned  by  the  crown ;  but  that 
all  captains  and  other  inferior  officers  of  the  royal  troops  should 
take  rank  over  provincial  officers  of  the  same  grade,  having 
older  commissions." 

These  regulations,  originating  in  that  su^Dercilious  assump- 
tion of  superiority  which  sometimes  overruns  and  degrades 
true  British  pride,  would  have  been  spurned  by  Washing- 
ton, as  insulting  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  his 
high-minded  brethren  of  the  colonies.  How  much  did  this  open 
disparagement  of  colonial  honor  and  understanding,  contribute 
to  wean  from  England  the  affection  of  her  American  subjects. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  89 

and  prepare  the  way  for  tlieir  ultimate  assertion  of  independ- 
ence. 

Another  cause  of  vexation  to  Washington  was  the  r^usal  of 
Governor  Dinwiddie  to  give  up  the  French  prisoners,  taken  in 
the  affair  of  De  JumonvillCj  in  fulfillment  of  the  articles  of 
capitulation.  His  plea  was,  that,  since  the  capitulation,  the 
French  had  taken  several  British  subjects,  and  sent  them  pris- 
oners to  Canada,  he  considered  himself  justifiable  in  detaining 
those  Frenchmen  which  he  had  in  his  custody.  He  sent  a 
flag  of  truce,  however,  offering  to  returning  the  officer  Drouillon, 
and  the  two  cadets,  in  exchange  for  Captains  Stobo  and  Van 
Braam,  whom  the  French  held  as  hostages ;  but  his  offer  was 
treated  with  merited  disregard.  Washington  felt  deeply 
mortified  by  this  obtuseness  of  the  governor  on  a  point  of 
military  punctilio  and  honorable  faith,  but  his  remonstrances 
were  unavailing. 

The  French  prisoners  were  clothed  and  maintained  at  the 
public  expense,  and  Drouillon  and  the  cadets  were  allowed  to 
go  at  large  ;  the  private  soldiers  were  kept  in  confinement. 
La  Force,  also,  not  having  acted  in  a  military  capacity,  and 
having  oifended  against  the  peace  and  security  of  the  frontier, 
by  his  intrigues  among  the  Indians,  was  kept  in  close  durance. 
Washington,  who  knew  nothing  of  this,  was  shocked  on  visit- 
ing Williamsburg  to  learn  that  La  Force  was  in  prison.  He 
expostulated  with  the  governor  on  the  subject,  but  without 
effect ;  Dinwiddie  was  at  all  times  pertinacious,  but  particu- 
larly so  when  he  felt  himself  to  be  a  little  in  the  wrong. 

As  we  shall  have  no  further  occasion  to  mention  La  Force, 
in  connection  with  the  subject  of  this  work,  we  will  anticipate 
a  page  of  his  fortunes.  After  remaining  two  years  in  confine- 
ment he  succeeded  in  breaking  out  of  prison,  and  escaping  into 
the  country.  An  alarm  was  given,  and  circulated  far  and  wide, 
for  such  was  the  opinion  of  his  personal  strength,  desperate 
courage,  wily  cunning,  and  great  influence  over  the  Indians, 
that  the  most  mischievous  results  were  apprehended  should  he 
regain  the  frontier.  In  the  meantime  he  was  wandering  about 
the  country,  ignorant  of  the  roads,  and  fearing  to  make  inquir- 
ies, lest  his  foreign  tongue  should  betray  him.  He  reached 
King  and  Queen  Court  House,about  thirty  miles  from  Williams- 
burg, when  a  countryman  was  struck  with  his  foreign  air  and 
aspect.  La  Force  ventured  to  put  a  question  as  to  the  dis- 
tance and  direction  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  his  broken  English 
convinced  the  countryman  of  his  being  the  French  prisoner, 
whose  escape  had  been  noised  about  the  country.  Watch- 
ing an  opportunity  he    seized   him,  and  regardless  of   offers 


90  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  great  bribes,  conducted  bim  back  to  the  prison  of  Williams- 
burg, where  he  was  secured  with  double  irons,  and  chained  to 
he  floor, of  his  dungeon. 

The  refusal  of  Governor  Dinwiddle  to  fulfill  the  article  of 
the  capitulation  respecting  the  prisoners,  and  the  rigorous 
treatment  of  La  Force,  operated  hardly  upon  the  hostages, 
Stobo  and  Van  Braam,  who,  in  retaliation,  were  confined  in 
prison  in  Quebec,  though  otherwise  treated  with  kindness. 
They,  also,  by  extraordinary  efforts,  succeeded  in  breaking 
prison,  but  found  it  more  difficult  to  evade  the  sentries  of  a 
fortified  place.  Stobo  managed  to  escape  into  the  country ; 
but  the  luckless  Van  Braam  sought  concealment  under  an  arch 
of  a  causeway  leaning  from  the  fortress.  Here  he  remained 
until  nearly  exhausted  by  hunger.  Seeing  the  Governor  of 
Canada  passing  by,  and  despairing  of  being  able  to  effect  his 
escape,  he  came  forth  from  his  hiding-place,  and  surrendered 
himself,  invoking  his  clemency.  He  was  remanded  to  prison, 
but  experienced  no  additional  severity.  He  was  subsequently 
shipped  by  the  governor  from  Quebec  to  England,  and  never 
returned  to  Virginia.  It  is  this  treatment  of  Van  Braam, 
more  than  anything  else,  which  convinces  us  that  the  suspi- 
cion of  his  being  in  collusion  with  the  French  in  regard  to  the 
misinterpretation  of  the  articles  of  capitulation,  was  groundless. 
He  was  simply  a  blunderer. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  91 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RETURN  TO  QUIET  LIFE. FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  PREPARE  FOR 

HOSTILITIES. PLAN  OF  A  CAMPAIGN. GENERAL  BRADDOCK. 

HIS  CHARACTER. SIR   JOHN    ST.    CLAIR,  QUARTERMASTER- 
GENERAL. — HIS  TOUR  OF  INSPECTION. PROJECTED  ROADS. 

ARRIVAL    OF    BRADDOCK. MILITARY     CONSULTATIONS     AND 

PLANS. COMMODORE  KEPPEL  AND  HIS  SEAMEN. SHIPS  AND 

TROOPS    AT  ALEXANDRIA. EXCITEMENT  OF  WASHINGTON. 

INVITED  TO     JOIN  THE    STAFF    OF     BRADDOCK. A  MOTHEr's 

OBJECTIONS. WASHINGTON  AT  ALEXANDRIA. GRAND  COUN- 
CIL   OF    GOVERNORS. MILITARY  ARRANGEMENTS. COLONEL 

WILLIAM    JOHNSON. SIR  JOHN  ST.  CLAIR  AT  FORT    CUMBER- 
LAND.  HIS     EXPLOSIONS      OF     WRATH. THEIR    EFFECTS. 

INDIANS  TO  BE  ENLISTED. CAPTAIN  JACK  AND  HIS  BAND  OF 

BUSH-BEATERS. 

Having  resigned  his  commission,  and  disengaged  himself 
from  public  a:ffairs,  Washington's  first  care  was  to  visit  his 
mother,  inquire  into  the  state  of  domestic  concerns,  and  attend 
to  the  welfare  of  his  brothers  and  sisters.  In  these  matters  he 
was  ever  his  mother's  adjunct  and  counselor,  discharging  faith- 
fully the  duties  of  an  eldest  son,  who  should  consider  himself 
a  second  father  to  the  family. 

He  now  took  up  his  abode  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  prepared 
to  engage  in  those  agricultural  pursuits,  for  which,  even  in  his 
youthful  days,  he  had  as  keen  a  relish  as  for  the  profession  of 
arms.  Scarcely  had  he  entered  upon  his  rural  occupations, 
however,  when  the  service  of  his  country  once  more  called 
him  to  the  field. 

The  disastrous  affair  at  the  Great  Meadows,  and  the  other 
acts  of  Prench  hostility  on  the  Ohio,  had  roused  the  attention 
of  the  British  ministry.  Their  ambassador  at  Paris  was  in- 
structed to  complain  of  those  violations  of  the  peace.  The 
court  of  Versailles  amused  him  with  general  assurances  of  amity, 
and  a  strict  adherence  to  treaties.  Their  ambassador  at  the 
court  of  St.  James,  the  Marquis  de  Mirepoix,  on  the  faith  of 
his  instructions,  gave  the  same  assurances.  In  the  meantime, 
however,  French  ships  were  fitted  out,  and  troops  embarked,  to 
carry  out  the  schemes  of  the  government  in  America.  So  pro- 
found was  the  dissimulation  of  the   court  of  Versailles,  that 


92  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

even  their  own  ambassador  is  said  to  have  been  kept  in  ignor- 
ance of  their  real  designs,  and  of  the  hostile  game  they  were 
playing,  while  he  was  exerting  himself  in  good  faith  to  lull  the 
suspicions  of  England,  and  maintain  the  international  peace. 
"When  his  e3^es,  however,  were  opened,  he  returned  indignantly 
to  France,  and  upbraided  the  cabinet  with  the  duplicity  of  which 
he  had  been  made  the  unconscious  instrument. 

The  British  government  now  prepared  for  military  operations 
in  America ;  none  of  them  jDrofessedly  aggressive,  but  rather  to 
resist  and  counteract  aggressions.  A  plan  of  campaign  was 
devised  for  1755,  having  four  objects. 

To  eject  the  French  from  lands  which  they  held  unjustly,  in 
the  province  of  Nova  Scotia. 

To  dislodge  them  from  a  fortress  which  they  had  erected  at 
Crown  Poinjb,  on  Lake  Champlain,  within  what  was  claimed  as 
British  territory. 

To  dispossess  them  of  the  fort  which  they  had  constructed 
at  Niagara,  between  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake  Eri 

To  drive  them  from  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  and  recover  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  captain-general  of  the  British 
army,  had  the  organization  of  this  campaign ;  and  through  his 
patronage  Major-general  Edward  Braddock  was  intrusted  with 
the  execution  of  it,  being  appointed  generalissimo  of  all  the 
forces  in  the  colonies. 

Braddock  was  a  veteran  in  service,  and  had  been  upwards 
of  forty  years  in  the  Guards,  that  school  of  exact  discipline 
and  technical  punctilio.  Cumberland,  who  held  a  commission 
in  the  Guards,  and  was  bigoted  to  its  routine,  may  have  con- 
sidered Braddock  fitted,  by  his  skill  and  preciseness  as  a 
tactician,  for  a  command  in  a  new  country,  inexperienced  in 
military  science,  to  bring  its  raw  levies  into  order,  and  to  settle 
those  questions  of  rank  and  etiquette  apt  to  arise  where  regular 
and  provincial  troops  are  to  act  together. 

The  result  proved  the  error  of  such  an  opinion.  Braddock 
was  a  brave  and  experienced  officer  ;  but  his  experience  was 
that  of  routine,  and  rendered  him  pragmatical  and  obstinate, 
impatient  of  novel  expedients  "  not  laid  down  in  the  books," 
but  dictated  by  emergencies  in  a  "  new  country,'^  and  his 
military  precision,  which  would  have  been  brilliant  on  parade, 
was  a  constant  obstacle  to  alert  action  in  the  wilderness."* 

*  Horace  Walpole,  in  his  letters,  relates  some  anecdotes  of  Braddock, 
which  give  a  familiar  picture  of  him  in  the  fashionable  life  in  which  he 
had  mingled  in  London,  and  are  of  value,  as  letting  ns  into  the  private 
character  of  a  ra^-n  whose  name  has  become  proverbial  in.  American  his- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  93 

Braddock  was  to  lead  in  person  the  grand  enterprise  of  the 
campaign,  that  destined  for  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania ;  it  was  the  enterprise  in  which  Washington  became 
enlisted,  and,  therefore,  claims  our  especial  attention. 

Prior  to  the  arrival  of  Braddock,  came  out  from  England 
Lieutenant-colonel  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  deputy  quartermaster- 
general,  eager  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  field  of 
operations.  He  made  a  tour  of  inspection,  in  company  with 
Governor  Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  and  appears  to  have  been  dis- 
mayed at  sight  of  the  impracticable  wilderness,  the  region  of 
Washington's  campaign.  Prom  Port  Cumberland,  he  wrote  in 
Pebruary  to  Governor  Morris,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  have  the 
road  cut,  or  repaired,  toward  the  head  of  the  river  Youghio- 
gheny,  and  another  opened  from  Philadelphia  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  supplies.  "ISTo^ general,"  writes  he,  "will  advance  with 
an  army  without  having  a  communication  open  to  the  prov- 
inces in  his  rear,  both  for  the  security  of  retreat,  and  to  facili- 
tate the  transport  of  provisions,  the  supplying  of  which  must 
greatly  depend  on  your  province."  * 

Unfortunately  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  had  no  money 
at  his  command,  and  was  obliged,  for  expenses,  to  apply  to 
his  Assembly,  "  a  set  of  men,"  writes  he,  "  quite  unacquainted 
with  every  kind  of  military  service,  and  exceedingly  unwilling 
to  part  with  money  on  any  terms."  However,  by  dint  of  ex- 
ertions, he  procured  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to 
explore  the  country,  and  survey  and  lay  out  the  roads  required. 
At  the  head  of  the  commission  was  George  Croghan,  the  Indian 
trader,  whose  mission  to  the  Twightwees  we  have  already 
spoken  of.  Times  had  gone  hard  with  Croghan.  The  Prench 
had  seized  great  quantities  of  his  goods.  The  Indians,  with 
whom  he  traded,  had  failed  to  pay  their  debts,  and  he  hp4  be- 
come a  bankrupt.     Being  an  efficient    agent  on    the   f?-ontier, 

tory.  ''Braddock,"  says  Walpole,  "  is  a  very  Iroquois  in  disposition. 
He  had  a  sister,  who,  having  gamed  away  all  her  little  fortune  at  Bath, 
hanged  herself  with  a  truly  lEnglish  deliberation,  leaving  a  2iote  on  the 
table  with  these  lines  :  '  To  die  is  landing  on  some  siler^t  shore,'  etc. 
When  Braddock  was  told  of  it,  he  only  said  :  '  PoorFapxiy  I  I  always 
thought  she  would  play  till  she  would  be  forced  to  tuck  herself  up.'  " 

Braddock  himself  had  been  somewhat  of  a  spendthrift  He  was  touchy 
also,  and  punctilious.  ''  He  once  had  a  duel,"  says  Walpole,  "  with  Col- 
onel Glumley,  Lady  Bath's  brother,  who  had  been  his  great  friend.  As 
they  were  going  to  engage,  Glumley,  who  had  good  \umor  and  wit 
(Braddock  had  the  latter)  said  :  '  Braddock,  you  are  a  ])oor  dog  !  here, 
take  my  purse  ;  if  you  kill  me  you  will  be  forced  to  ru:2  away,  and  then 
you  will  not  have  a  shilling  to  support  you.'  Brad^^ock  refused  the 
purse,  insisted  on  the  duel,  was  disarmed,  and  would  not  even  ask  for 
his  life," 

*  Colonial  Jiccords,  yj.  300. 


94  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  among  the  Indians,  lie  still  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  the 
Pennsylvania  government. 

When  Sir  John  St.  Clair  had  finished  his  tour  of  inspection, 
he  descended  Wills'  Creek  and  the  Potomac  for  two  hundred 
miles  in  a  canoe  to  Alexandria,  and  repaired  to  Virginia  to 
meet  General  Braddock.  The  latter  had  landed  on  the  20th  of 
February  at  Hampton,  in  Virginia,  and  proceeded  to  Williams- 
burg to  consult  with  Governor  Dinwiddie.  Shortly  afterwards 
he  was  joined  there  by  Commodore  Keppel,  whose  squadron  of 
two  ships  of  war,  and  several  transports,  had  anchored  in  the 
Chesapeake.  On  board  of  these  ships  were  two  prime  regi- 
ments of  about  five  hundred  men  each;  one  commanded  by  Sir 
Peter  Halket,  the  other  by  Colonel  Dunbar  ;  together  with  a 
train  of  artillery,  and  the  necessary  munitions  of  war.  The  reg- 
iments were  to  be  augmented  to  seven  hundred  men  each,  by 
men  selected  by  Sir  John  St.  Clair  from  Virginia  companies 
recently  raised. 

Alexandria  was  fixed  upon  as  the  place  where  the  troops 
should  disembark,  and  encamp.  The  ships  were  accordingly 
ordered  up  to  that  place,  and  the  levies  directed  to  repair 
thither. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  included  the  use  of  Indian  allies. 
Governor  Dinwiddie  had  already  sent  Christopher  Gist,  the 
pioneer,  Washington's  guide  in  1753,  to  engage  the  Cherokees 
and  Catawbas,  the  bravest  of  the  Southern  tribes,  who  he  had 
no  doubt  would  take  up  the  hatchet  for  the  English,  peace  being 
first  concluded,  through  the  mediation  of  his  government,  be- 
tween them  and  the  Six  Nations ;  and  he  gave  Braddock  reason 
to  expect  at  least  four  hundred  Indians  to  join  him  at  Fort 
Cumberland.  He  laid  before  him  also  contracts  that  he  had 
made  for  cattle,  and  promises  that  the  Assembly  of  Pennsyl- 
vania had  made  of  flour;  these,  with  other  supplies,  and  a 
thousand  barrels  of  beef  on  board  of  the  transports,  would 
furnish  six  months'  provisions  for  four  thousand  men. 

General  Braddock  apprehended  difficulty  in  procuring 
wagons  and  horses  sufficient  to  attend  him  in  his  march.  Sir 
John  St.  Clair,  in  the  course  of  his  tour  of  inspection,  had  met 
wdth  two  Dutch  settlers,  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Pidge,  who 
engaged  to  furnish  two  hundred  wagons,  and  fifteen  hundred 
carrying  horses,  to  be  at  Fort  Cumberland  early  in  May. 

Governor  Sharpe  was  to  furnish  above  a  hundred  wagons  for 
the  transportation  of  stores,  on  the  Maryland  side  of  tlie 
Potomac. 

Keppel  furnished  four  cannons  from  his  ships,  for  the  attack 
on  Fort  Duquesne^  and  thirty  picked  seamen  to  assist  in  drag- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  95 

glng  the  mover  the  mountains  ;  for  "soldiers,"  said  he,  "cannot 
be  as.  well  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  purchases,  and  making 
use  of  tackles,  as  seamen."  They  were  to  aid  also  in  pass- 
ing the  troops  and  artillery  on  floats  or  in  boats,  across  the 
rivers,  and  were  under  the  command  of  a  midshipman  and 
lieutenant.* 

"  Everything,"  writes  Captain  Robert  Orme,  one  of  the 
general's  aides-de-camp,  "  seemed  to  promise  so  far  the  greatest 
success.  The  transports  were  all  arrived  safe,  and  the  men  in 
health.  Provisions,  Indians,  carriages,  and  horses  were  already 
provided  ;  at  least  were  to  be  esteemed  so,  considering  the  au- 
thorities on  which  they  were  promissed  to  the  general." 

Trusting  to  these  arrangements,  Braddock  proceeded  to 
Alexandria.  The  troops  had  all  been  disembarked  before  his 
arrival,  and  the  Virginia  levies  selected  by  Sir  John  St. 
Clair,  to  join  the  regiments  of  regulars,  were  arrived.  There 
were  beside  two  companies  of  hatchet  men,  or  carpenters  ; 
six  of  rangers  ;  and  one  troop  of  light  horse.  The  levies  having 
been  clothed,  were  ordered  to  march  immediately  for  Win- 
chester, to  be  armed,  and  the  general  gave  them  in  charge, 
of  an  ensign  of  the  44th,  "  to  make  them  as  like  soldiers  as 
possible."!  The  light  horse  were  retained  by  the  general  as 
his  escort  and  body-guard. 

The  din  and  stir  of  warlike  preparation  disturbed  the  quiet  of 
of  Mount  Vernon.  Washington  looked  down  from  his  rural 
retreat  upon  the  ships  of  war  and  transports,  as  they  passed  up 
the  Potomac,  with  the  array  of  arms  gleaming  along  their  decks. 
The  booming  of  cannon  echoed  among  his  groves.  Alexandria 
was  but  a  few  miles  distant.  Occasionally  he  mounted  his 
horse,  and  rode  to  that  place ;  it  was  like  a  garrisoned  town, 
teeming  with  troops,  and  resounding  with  the  drum  and  fife. 
A  brilliant  campaign  was  about  to  open  under  the  auspices  of  an 
experienced  general,  and'with  all  the  means  and  appurtenances 
of  European  warfare.  How  different  from  the  starveling  ex- 
peditions he  had  hitherto  been  doomed  to  conduct !  What  an 
opportunity  to  efface  the  memory  of  his  recent  disaster  !  All 
his  thoughts  of  rural  life  were  put  to  flight.  The  military  part 
of  his  character  was  again  in  the  ascendant ;  his  great  desire 
was  to  join  the  expedition  as  a  volunteer. 

It  was  reported  to  General  Braddock.  The  latter  was 
apprised  by  Governor  Dinwiddle  and  others,  of  Washington's 
personal  merits,  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  his  ex- 
perience in  frontier  service.     The  consequence   was,  a  letter 

*  Keppel's  Life  of  Keppel,  p.  205 
t  Orme's  Journal, 


96  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

from  Captain  Eobert  Orme,  one  of  Braddock's  aides-de-camp, 
written  by  the  general's  order,  inviting  Washington  to  join 
his  staff ;  the  letter  concluded  with  frank  and  cordial  expres- 
sions of  esteem  on  the  part  of  Orme,  which  were  warmly  re- 
ciprocated, and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  soldierlike  friendship 
between  them. 

A  volunteer  situation  on  the  staff  of  General  Braddock  offered 
no  emolument  nor  command  and  would  be  attended  with  con- 
siderable expense,  beside  a  sacrifice  of  his  private  interests, 
having  no  person  in  whom  he  had  confidence,  to  take  charge  of 
his  affairs  in  his  absence  ;  still  he  did  not  hesitate  a  moment 
to  accept  the  invitation.  In  the  position  offered  to  him,  all 
the  questions  of  military  rank  which  had  hitherto  annoyed  him 
would  be  obviated.  He  could  indulge  his  passion  for  arms 
without  any  sacrifice  of  dignity,  and  he  looked  forward  with 
high  anticipation  to  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  military  ex- 
perience in  a  corps  well  organized,  and  thoroughly  disciplined, 
and  in  the  family  of  a  commander  of  acknowledged  skill  as  a 
tactician. 

His  mother  heard  with  concern  of  another  projected  ex- 
pedition into  the  wilderness.  Hurrying  to  Mount  Vernon,  she 
entreated  him  not  again  to  expose  himself  to  the  hardships  and 
perils  of  these  frontier  campaigns.  She  doubtless  felt  the  value 
of  his  presence  at  home,  to  manage  and  protect  the  complicated 
interests  of  the  domestic  connection,  and  had  watched  with 
solicitude  over  his  adventurous  campaigning,  where  so  much 
family  welfare  was  at  hazard.  However  much  a  mother's  pride 
may  have  been  gratified  by  his  early  advancement  and  renown, 
she  had  rejoiced  on  his  return  to  the  safer  walks  of  peaceful  life. 
She  was  thoroughly  practical  and  prosaic  in  her  notions,  and 
was  not  to  be  dazzled  by  military  glory.  The  passions  for  arms 
which  mingled  with  the  more  sober  elements  of  Washington's 
character,  would  seem  to  have  been  inherited  from  his  father's 
side  of  his  house;  it  was,  in  fact,  the  old  chivalrous  spirit  of  the 
De  Wessyngtons. 

His  mother  had  once  prevented  him  from  entering  the  navy, 
when  a  gallant  frigate  was  at  hand,  anchored  in  the  waters  of 
the  Potomac ;  with  all  his  deference  for  her,  which  he  retained 
through  life,  he  could  not  resist  the  appeal  to  his  martial 
sympathies,  which  called  him  to  the  head-quarters  of  General 
Braddock  at  Alexandria. 

His  arrival  was  hailed  by. his  young  associates.  Captains 
Orme  and  Morris,  the  general's  aides-de-camp,  who  at  once  re- 
ceived him  into  frank   companionship,  and  a  cordial  intimacy 


ItFE  OP  WAsmiTGTOK.  07 

commenced  between  them,  that  continued  throughout  the  cam- 
paign. 

He  experienced  a  courteous  reception  from  the  general,  who 
expressed  in  flattering  terms  the  impression  he  had  received  of 
his  merits.  Washington  soon  appreciated  the  character  of  the 
general.  He  found  him  stately  and  somewhat  haughty,  exact 
in  matters  of  military  etiquette  and  discipline,  positive  in  giv- 
ing an  opinion,  and  obstinate  in  maintaining  it;  but  of  an  hon- 
orable and  generous,  though  somewhat  irritable  nature. 

There  were  at  that  time  four  governors,  besides  Dinwiddle, 
assembled  at  Alexandria,  at  Braddock's  request,  to  concert  a 
plan  of  military  operations — Governor  Shirley  of  Massachu- 
setts, Lieutenant-governor  Delancey  of  Kew  York,  Lieutenant- 
governor  Sharpe  of  Maryland,  Lieutenant-governor  Morris  of 
Pennsylvania.  Washington  was  presented  to  them  in  a  man- 
ner that  showed  how  well  his  merits  were  already  appreciated. 
Shirley  seems  particularly  to  have  struck  him  as  the  model  of 
a  gentleman  and  statesman.  He  was  originally  a  lawyer,  and 
had  risen  not  more  by  his  talents,  than  by  his  implicit  devo- 
tion to  the  crown.  His  son  William  was  military  secretary  to 
Braddock. 

A  grand  council  was  held  on  the  14th  of  April,  composed  of 
General  Braddock,  Commodore  Keppel,  and  the  governors,  at 
which  the  general's  commission  was  read,  as  were  his  instruc- 
tions from  the  king,  relating  to  a  common  fund,  to  be  estab- 
lished by  the  several  colonies,  toward  defraying  the  expenses  of 
the  campaign. 

The  governors  were  prepared  to  answer  on  this  head,  letters 
to  the  same  purport  having  been  addressed  to  them  by  Sir 
Thomas  Bobinson,  one  of  the  king's  secretaries  of  state,  in  the 
preceding  month  of  October.  They  informed  Braddock  that 
they  had  applied  to  their  respective  Assemblies  for  the  establish- 
ment of  such  a  fund,  but  in  vain,  and  gave  it  as  their  unanimous 
opinion,  that  such  a  fund  could  never  be  established  in  the  colonies 
without  the  aid  of  Parliament.  They  had  found  it  impractica- 
ble, also,  to  obtain  from  their  respective  governments  the  pro- 
portions expected  from  them  by  the  crown  toward  military  ex- 
penses in  America;  and  suggested  that  ministers  should  find 
out  some  mode  of  compelling  them  to  do  it ;  and  that,  in  the 
meantime,  the  general  should  make  use  of  his  credit  upon  gov- 
ernment, for  current  expenses,  lest  the  expedition  should  come 
to  a  stand.* 

In  discussing  the   campaign,  the   governors  were  of  opinion 
that  New  York  should  be  made  the  centre  of  operations,  as  it 
*  Colonial  Becords,  vol.  vi.  p.  366. 


08  ItFE  o:f  wAsiimGToif. 

afforded  easy  access  by  water  to  the  heart  of  the  French  pos- 
sessions in  Canada.  Braddock,  however,  did  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  depart  from  his  instructions,  which  specified  the  recent  es- 
tablishments of  the  French  on  the  Ohio  as  the  objects  of  his 
expedition. 

Niagara  and  Crown  Point  were  to  be  attacked  about  the  same 
time  with  Fort  Duquesne,  the  former  by  Governor  Shirley,  with 
his  own  and  Sir  William  Pepperell's  regiments,  and  some  New 
York  companies ;  the  latter  by  Colonel  William  Johnson,  sole 
manager  and  director  of  Indian  affairs  ;  a  personage  worthy  of 
especial  note. 

He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  had  come  out  to  this  country 
in  1734,  to  manage  the  landed  estates  owned  by  his  uncle.  Com- 
modore Sir  Peter  Warren,  in  the  Mohawk  country.  He  had 
resided  ever  since  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mohawk  Kiver,  in  the 
province  of  New  York.  By  his  agency,  and  his  dealings  with 
the  native  tribes,  he  had  acquired  great  wealth,  and  become  a 
kind  of  potentate  in  the  Indian  country.  His  influence  over 
the  Six  Nations  was  said  to  be  unbounded ;  and  it  was  prin- 
cipally with  the  aid  of  a  large  force  of  their  warriors  that  it 
was  expected  he  would  accomplish  his  part  of  the  campaign. 
The  end  of  June,  "  nearly  in  July,"  was  fixed  upon  as  the  time 
when  the  several  attacks  upon  Forts  Duquesne,  Niagara,  and 
Crown  Point  should  be  carried  into  execution ;  and  Braddock 
anticipated  an  easy  accomplishment  of  his  plans. 

The  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the  lands  wrongfully  held 
by  them  in  Nova  Scotia,  was  to  be  assigned  to  Colonel  Law- 
rence, lieutenant-governor  of  that  province ;  we  will  briefly  add, 
in  anticipation,  that  it  was  effected  by  him  with  the  aid  of  troops 
from  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere,  led  by  Lieutenant-colonel 
Monckton. 

The  business  of  the  Congress  being  finished.  General  Brad- 
dock  would  have  set  out  for  Fredericktown,  in  Maryland,  but 
few  wagons  or  teams  had  yet  come  to  remove  the  artillery. 
Washington  had  looked  with  wonder  and  dismay  at  the  huge 
paraphernalia  of  war,  and  the  world  of  superfluities  to  be  trans- 
ported across  the  mountains,  recollecting  the  difficulties  he 
had  experienced  in  getting  over  them  with  his  nine  swivels, 
and  scanty  supplies.  "If  our  march  is  to  be  regulated  by  the 
slow  movements  of  the  train,"  said  he,  "  it  will  be  tedious, 
very  tedious,  indeed." 

His  predictions  excited  a  sarcastic  smile  in  Braddock,  as  be- 
traying the  limited  notions  of  a  young  provincial  officer,  little 
acquainted  with  the  march  of  armies. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  who  had  returned  to 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  99 

the  frontier,  was  storming  at  the  camp  at  Fort  Cumherland. 
The  road  required  of  the  Pennsylvania  government  had  not 
been  commenced.  George  Croghan  and  the  other  commission- 
ers were  but  just  arrived  in  camp.  Sir  John,  according  to 
Croghan,  received  them  in  a  very  disagreeable  manner :  would 
not  look  at  their  draughts,  nor  suffer  any  representations  to  be 
made  to  him  in  regard  to  the  province,  "  but  stormed  like  a 
lion  rampant ;  "  declaring  that  the  want  of  the  road  and  of  the 
provisions  promised  by  Pennsylvania  had  retarded  the  expedi- 
tion, and  might  cost  them  their  lives  from  the  fresh  numbers 
of  French  that  might  be  poured  into  the »  country. — "  That 
instead  of  marching  to  the  Ohio,  he  would  in  nine  days  march 
his  army  into  Cumberland  County  to  cut  the  roads,  press 
horses,  wagons,  etc. — That  he  would  not  suffer  a  soldier  to 
handle  an  axe,  but  by  fire  and  sword  oblige  the  inhabitants  to 

do  it That  he  would  kill  all  kinds  of  cattle,  and  carry 

away  the  horses,  burn  the  houses,  etc. ;  and  that  if  the  French 
defeated  them,  by  the  delays  of  Pennsylvania,  he  would,  with 
his  sword  drawn,  pass  through  the  province  and  treat  the  in- 
habitants as  a  parcel  of  traitors  to  his  master.  That  he  would 
write  to  England  by  a  man-of-war ;  shake  Mr.  Penn's  proprie- 
taryship,  and  represent  Pennsylvania  as  a  disaffected  province. 
....  He  told  us  to  go  to  the  general,  if  we  pleased,  who  would 
give  us  ten  bad  words  for  one  that  he  had  given.^^ 

The  explosive  wrath  of  Sir  John,  which  was  not  to  be  ap- 
peased, shook  the  souls  of  the  commissioners,  and  they  wrote 
to  Governor  Morris,  urging  that  jjeople  might  be  set  at  work 
upon  the  road,  if  the  Assembly  had  made  provision  for  opening 
it ;  and  that  flour  might  be  sent  without  delay  to  the  mouth  of 
Canococheague  Kiver,  "  as  being  the  only  remedy  left  to  pre- 
vent these  threatened  mischiefs."  * 

In  reply,  Mr.  Eichard  Peters,  Governor  Morris'  secretary, 
wrote  in  his  name :  ^^  Get  a  number  of  hands  immediately,  and 
further  the  work  by  all  possible  methods.  Your  expenses  will 
be  paid  at  the  next  sitting  of  Assembly.  Do  your  duty,  and 
oblige  the  general  and  quartermaster  if  possible.  Finish  the 
road  that  will  be  wanted  first,  and  then  T)roceed  to  any  other 
that  may  be  thought  necessary." 

An  additional  commission,  of  a  different  kind,  was  intrusted 
to  George  Croghan.  Governor  Morris  by  letter  requested  him 
to  convene  at  Aughquick,  in  Pennsylvania,  as  many  warriors 
as  possible  of  the  mixed  tribes  of  the  Ohio,  distribute  among 
them  wampum  belts  sent  for  the  purpose,  and  engage  them  to 

*  Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.  p.  368, 


100  LIFE  OF  WASUtNGTON. 

meet  General  Braddock  when  on  the  march,  and  render  him  all 
the  assistance  in  their  power. 

In  reply,  Croghan  engaged  to  enlist  a  strong  body  of  Indians, 
being  sure  of  the  influence  of  Scarooyadi,  successor  to  the  half- 
king,  and  of  his  adjunct,  White  Thunder,  keeper  of  the  speech- 
belts.*  At  the  instance  of  G-overnor  Morris,  Croghan  secured 
the  services  of  another  kind  of  force.  This  was  a  band  of 
hunters,  resolute  men,  well  acquainted  with  the  country,  and 
inured  to  hardships.  They  were  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Jack,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characters  of  Pennsylvania, 
a  complete  hero  of  the  wilderness.  He  had  been  for  many 
years  a  captive  among  the  Indians  ;  and,  having  learnt  their 
ways,  had  formed  this  association  for  the  protection  of  the 
settlements,  receiving  a  commission  of  captain  from  the  Gover- 
nor of  Pennsylvania.  The  band  had  become  famous  for  its  ex- 
ploits, and  was  a  terror  to  the  Indians.  Captain  Jack  was  at 
present  protecting  the  settlements  on  the  Canococheague  ;  but 
promised  to  march  by  a  circuitous  route  and  join  Braddock  with 
his  hunters.  "They  require  no  shelter  for  the  night,"  writes 
Croghan  ;  "they  ask  no  pay.  If  the  whole  army  was  composed 
of  such  men  there  would  be  no  cause  of  apprehension.  I  shall 
be  with  them  in  time  for  duty."* 

NOTE. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter,  dated  August,  1750,  gives  one  of  the 
stories  relative  to  this  individual: — 

"  The  'Black  Hunter,'  the  'Black  Rifle,'  the  'Wild  Hunter  of  Juni- 
ata,' is  a  white  man;  his  history  is  this:  He  entered  the  woods  with  a 
few  entei-prising  companions  ;  built  his  cabin ;  cleared  a  little  land,  and 
amused  himself  with  the  pleasures  of  fishing  and  hunting.  He  felt 
happy,  for  then  he  had  not  a  care.  But  on  an  evening  when  he  re- 
turned from  a  day  of  sport,  he  found  his  cabin  burnt,  his  wife  and 
children  murdered.  From  that  moment  he  forsakes  civilized  man; 
hunts  out  caves,  in  which  he  lives;  protects  the  frontier  inhabitants 
from  the  Indians;  and  seizes  every  opportunity  of  revenge  that  offers. 
He  lives  the  terror  of  the  Indians  and  the  consolation  of  the  whites.  On 
one  occasion,  near  Juniata,  in  the  middle  of  a  dark  night,  a  family  were 
suddenly  awakened  from  sleep  by  the  report  of  a  gun ;  they  jumped  from 
their  huts,  and  by  the  ghmmering  light  from  the  chimney  saw  an  In- 
dian fall  to  rise  no  more.  The  open  door  exposed  to  view  the  wild  hun- 
ter. '  I  have  saved  your  lives,'  he  cried,  then  turned  and  was  buried  in 
the  gloom  of  night." — Hazard's  Eegister  of  Penn,  vol.  iv.  p.  389. 

^Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.  p.  375. 
Haz3,rd's  Begister  of  Penn.  vol.  iv.  p.  41^ 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. lOJ, 


CHAPTER  XV. 

WASHINGTON  PKOCLAIMED    AIDE-DE-CAMP. DISAPPOINTMENTS 

AT     FREDERICKTOWN. BENJAMIN      FRANKLIN     AND      BRAD- 
DOCK. CONTRACTS. DEPARTURE       FOR       WILLS'      CREEK. 

ROUGH     ROADS. THE      GENERAL     IN    HIS      CHARIOT. CAMP 

AT     FORT      CUMBERLAND. HUGH      MERCER. DR.       CRAIK. 

MILITARY     TACTICS. CAMP     RULES. SECRETARY     PETERS. 

INDIANS     IN      CAMP. INDIAN       BEAUTIES. THE       PRINCESS 

BRIGHT    LIGHTNING. ERRAND     TO     WILLIAMSBURG. BRAD- 

DOCk's  opinion  of  contractors     and    INDIANS. ARRIVAL 

OF    CONVEYANCES. 

General  Braddock  set  out  from  Alexandria  on  tlie  20th 
of  April.  Washington  remained  behind  a  few  days  to  arrange 
his  affairs,  and  then  rejoined  him  at  Fredericktown,  in  Mary- 
land, where,  on  the  10th  of  May,  he  was  proclaimed  one  of  the 
general's  aides-de-camp.  The  troubles  of  Braddock  had  already 
commenced.  The  Virginian  contractors  failed  to  fulfill  their 
engagements ;  of  all  the  immense  means  of  transportation  so 
confidently  promised,  but  fifteen  wagons  and  a  hundred  draught- 
horses  had  arrived,  and  there  was  no  prospect  of  more.  There 
was  equal  disappointment  in  provisions,  both  as  to  quantity  and 
quality ;  and  he  had  to  send  round  the  country  to  buy  cattle  for 
the  subsistence  of  the  troops. 

Fortunatel}^  while  the  general  was  venting  his  spleen  in  an- 
athemas against  army  contractors,  Benjamin  Franklin  arrived 
at  Fredericktown.  That  eminent  man,  then  about  forty-nine 
years  of  age,  had  been  for  many  years  member  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Assembly,  and  was  now  postmaster-general  for  America. 
The  Assembly  understood  that  Braddock  was  incensed  against 
them,  supposing  them  adverse  to  the  service  of  the  war.  They 
had  procured  Franklin  to  wait  upon  him,  not  as  if  sent  by 
them,  but  as  if  he  came  in  his  capacity  of  postmaster-general, 
to  arrange  for  the  sure  and  sjDeedy  transmission  of  despatches 
between  the  commander-in-chief  and  the  governors  of  the 
provinces. 

He  was  well  received,  and  became  a  daily  guest  at  the 
general's  table.  In  his  autobiography,  he  gives  us  an  instance 
of  the  blind  confidence  and  fatal  prejudices  by  which  Braddock 
was  deluded  throughout  this  expedition.     "  In  conversation  with 


102  J^IF^E  OF  WASHINGTON. 

iiim  one  ddy,"^writeS"Fraiililiii,  "he  was  giving  me  some  account 
of  his  intended  progress.  ^  After  taking  Fort  Duquesne/  said 
he,  '  I  am  to  proceed  to  Niagara ;  and,  having  taken  that,  to 
Frontenac,  if  the  season  will  allow  time  :  and  I  suppose  it  will, 
for  Duquesne  can  hardly  detain  me  above  three  or  four  days  ; 
and  then  I  can  see  nothing  that  can  obstruct  my  march  to 
Niagara/ 

^'  Having  before  revolved  in  my  mind,"  continues  Franklin, 
"the  long  line  his  armj^  must  make  in  their  march  by  a  very 
narrow  road,  to  be  cut  for  them  through  the  woods  and  bushes, 
and  also  what  I  had  heard  of  a  former  defeat  of  fifteen  hundred 
French,  who  invaded  the  Illinois  country,  I  had  conceived  some 
doubts  and  some  fears  for  the  event  of  the  campaign ;  but  I 
ventured  only  to  say,  '  To  be  sure,  sir,  if  you  arrive  well  before 
Duquesne  with  these  fine  troops,  so  well  provided  Avith  artillery, 
the  fort,  though  completely  fortified  and  assisted  with  a  very 
strong  garrison,  can  probably  make  but  a  short  resistance. 
The  only  danger  I  apprehend  of  obstruction  to  your  march,  is 
from  the  ambuscades  of  the  Indians,  who,  by  constant  practice, 
are  dexterous  in  laying  and  executing  them  ;  and  the  slender 
line,  nearly  four  miles  long,  which  your  army  must  make,  may 
expose  it  to  be  attacked  by  surprise  on  its  flanks,  and  to  be  cut 
like  thread  into  several  pieces,  which,  from  their  distance, 
cannot  come  up  in  time  to  support  one  another." 

"  He  smiled  at  my  ignorance,  and  replied  :  '  These  savages 
may  indeed  be  a  formidable  enemy  to  raw  American  militia, 
but  upon  the  king's  regular  and  disciplined  troops,  sir,  it  is 
impossible  they  should  make  an  impression.'  I  was  conscious 
of  an  impropriety  in  my  disputing  with  a  military  man  in 
matters  of  his  profession,  and  said  no  more."  * 

As  the  whole  delay  of  the  army  was  caused  by  the  want  of 
conveyances,  Franklin  observed  one  da}^  to  the  general  that  it 
was  a  pity  the  troops  had  not  been  landed  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  almost  every  farmer  had  his  wagon.  "  Then,  sir,"  re- 
plied Braddock,  "  you  who  are  a  man  of  interest  there  can  prob- 
ably procure  them  for  me,  and  I  beg  you  will."  Franklin  con- 
sented. An  instrument  in  writing  was  drawn  up,  empowering 
him  to  contract  for  one  hundred  aud  fifty  Avagons,  with  four 
horses  to  each  wagon,  and  fifteen  hundred  saddle  or  pack-horses 
for  the  service  of  His  Majesty's  forces,  to  be  at  Wills'  Creek 
on  or  before  the  20th  of  May ;  and  he  promptly  departed  for 
Lancaster  to  execute  the  commission. 

After  his  departure,  Braddock,  attended  by  his  staff  and  his 

*  Autobiography  of  Franklin,  Sparks'  edition,  p.  lUO. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  108 

guard  of  light  horse,  set  off  for  Wills'  Creek  by  the  way  of 
Winchester,  the  road  along  the  north  side  of  the  Potomac  not 
being  yet  made.  "  This  gave  him,"  writes  Washington,  "  a  good 
opportunity  to  see  the  absurdity  of  the  route,  and  of  damning 
it  very  heartily."  * 

Three  of  Washington's  horses  were  knocked  up  before  they 
reached  Winchester,  and  he  had  to  purchase  others.  This  was 
a  severe  drain  of  his  campaigning  purse  ;  fortunately^  he  was 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Greenway  Court,  and  was  enabled  to 
replenish  it  by  a  loan  from  his  old  friend  Lord  Fairfax. 

The  discomforts  of  the  rough  road  were  increased  with  the 
general,  by  his  travelling  with  some  degree  of  state  in  a  chariot 
which  he  had  purchased  of  Governor  Sharpe.  In  this  he 
dashed  by  Dunbar's  division  of  the  troops,  which  he  overtook 
near  Wills'  Creek ;  his  body  guard  of  light  horse  galloping  on 
each  side  of  his  chariot,  and  his  staff  accompanying  him ;  the 
drums  beating  the  Grenadiers'  March  as  he  passed.  In  this 
style,  too,  he  arrived  at  Fort  Cumberland,  amid  a  thundering 
salute  of  seventeen  guns.f 

By  this  time  the  general  discovered  that  he  was  not  in  a 
region  fitted  for  such  display,  and  his  travelling  chariot  was 
abandoned  at  Fort  Cumberland ;  otherwise  it  would  soon  have 
become  a  wreck  among  the  mountains  beyond. 

By  the  19th  of  May,  the  forces  were  assembled  at  Fort  Cum- 
berland. The  two  royal  regiments,  originally  one  thousand 
strong,  now  increased  to  fourteen  hundred,  by  men  chosen  from 
the  Maryland  and  Virginia  levies  ;  two  provincial  companies  of 
carpenters,  or  pioneers,  thirty  men  each,  with  subalterns  and 
captains  ;  a  company  of  guides,  composed  of  a  captain,  two  aids, 
and  ten  men  ;  the  troop  of  Virginia  light  horse,  commanded  by 
Captain  Stewart ;  the  detachment  of  thirty  sailors  with  their 
officers,  and  the  remnants  of  two  independent  companies  from 
New  York,  one  of  which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Horatio 
Gates,  of  whom  we  shall  have  to  speak  much  hereafter,  in  the 
course  of  this  biography. 

Another  person  in  camp,  of  subsequent  notoriety,  and  who 
became  a  warm  friend  of  Washington,  was  Dr.  Hugh  Mercer, 
a  Scotchman,  about  thirty-three  years  of  age.  About  ten  years 
previously  he  had  served  as  assistant  surgeon  in  the  forces  of 
Charles  Edward,  and  followed  his  standard  to  the  disastrous 
field  of  Culloden.  After  the  defeat  of  the  "chevalier,"  Mercer 
had  escaped  by  the  way  of  Inverness  to  America,  and  taken  up 

*  Draft  of  a  letter,  among  Washington's  papers,  addressed  to  Major 
John  Carlyle. 
t  Journal  of  the  Seamen's  detachment. 


104  /^?^^  OF  WASUINGTOK. 

his  residence  in  Virginia.  He  was  now  witli  the  Virginia 
troops,  rallying  under  the  standard  of  the  House  of  Hanover, 
in  an  expedition  led  by  a  general  who  had  aided  to  drive  the 
chevalier  from  Scotland.^ 

Another  young  Scotchman  in  the  camp  was  Dr.  James 
Craik,  who  had  become  strongly  attached  to  Washington,  being 
about  the  same  age,  and  having  been  with  him  in  the  affair  of 
the  Great  Meadows,  serving  as  surgeon  in  the  Virginia  regi- 
ment, to  which  he  still  belonged. 

At  Fort  Cumberland,  Washington  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  a  force  encamped  according  to  the  plan  approved  of  by 
the  council  of  war ;  and  military  tactics,  enforced  with  all  the 
precision  of  a  martinet. 

The  roll  of  each  company  was  called  over  morning,  noon, 
and  night.  There  was  strict  examination  of  arms  and  accou- 
trements ;  the  commanding  officer  of  each  company  being  an- 
swerable for  their  being  kept  in  good  order. 

The  general  was  very  particular  \n  regard  to  the  appearance 
and  drill  of  the  Virginia  recruits  and  companies,  whom  he  had 
put  under  the  rigorous  discipline  of  Ensign  Allen.  "  They, 
performed  their  evolutions  and  firing  as  well  as  could  be  ex- 
pected," writes  Captain  Orme,  "  but  their  languid,  spiritless, 
and  unsoldier-like  appearance,  considered  with  the  lowness  and 
ignorance  of  most  of  their  officers,  gave  little  hopes  of  their 
future  good  behavior."  f  He  doubtless  echoed  the  opinion  of 
the  general ;  how  completely  were  both  to  be  undeceived  as  to 
their  estimate  of  these  troops  ! 

The  general  held  a  levee  in  his  tent  every  morning,  from 
ten  to  eleven.  He  was  strict  as  to  the  morals  of  the  camp. 
Drunkenness  was  severely  punished.  A  soldier  convicted  of 
theft  was  sentenced  to  receive  one  thousand  lashes,  and  to  be 
drummed  out  of  his  regiment.  Part  of  the  first  part  of  the 
sentence  was  remitted.  Divine  service  was  performed  every 
Sunday,  at  the  head  of  the  colors  of  each  regiment,  by  the 
chaplain.  There  was  the  funeral  of  a  captain  who  died  at  this 
encampment.  A  captain's  guard  marched  before  the  corpse, 
the  captain  of  it  in  the  rear,  the  firelocks  reversed,  the  drums 
beating  the  dead  march.  When  near  the  grave,  the  guard 
formed  two  lines,  facing  each  other ;  rested  on  their  arms, 
muzzles  downwards,  and  leaned  their  faces  on  the  butts.  The 
corpse  was  carried  between  them,  the  sword  and  sash  on  the 
coffin,  and  the  officers  following  two  and  two.    After  the  chaplain 

*  Braddock  had  been  an  officer  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  in  his 
campaign  against  Charles  Edward. 
t  Orme's  Journal. 


LIFE  OF  WASUINGTON.  105 

of  the  regiment  had  read  the  service,  the  guard  fired  three 
volleys  over  the  grave,  and  returned."*" 

Braddock's  camp,  in  a  word,  was  a  complete  study  for 
Washington,  during  the  halt  at  Fort  Cumberland,  where  he 
had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  military  routine  in  its  strictest 
forms.  He  had  a  specimen,  too,  of  convivial  life  in  the  camp, 
which  the  general  endeavored  to  maintain,  even  in  the  wilder- 
ness, keeping  a  hospitable  table ;  for  he  is  said  to  have  been 
somewhat  of  a  bon  vivant,  and  to  have  had  with  him  "  two 
good  cooks,  who  could  make  an  excellent  ragout  out  of  a  pair 
of  boots,  had  they  but  materials  to  toss  them  up  with."  f 

There  was  great  detention  at  the  fort,  caused  by  the  want 
of  forage  and  supplies,  the  road  not  having  been  finished 
from  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Richard  Peters,  the  „  secretary  of 
Governor  Morris,  was  in  camp,  to  attend  to  the  matter.  He 
had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  Braddock's  complaints.  The  general 
declared  he  would  not  stir  from  Wills'  Creek  until  he  had  the 
governor's  assurance  that  the  road  would  be  open  in  time. 
Mr.  Peters  requested  guards  to  protect  the  men  while  at  work, 
from  attacks  by  the  Indians.  Braddock  swore  he  would  not 
furnish  guards  for  the  wood-cutters — "  let  Pennsylvania  do 
it ! "  He  scoffed  at  the  talk  about  danger  from  Indians. 
Peters  endeavored  to  make  him  sensible  of  the  peril  w^hich 
threatened  him  in  this  respect.  Should  an  army  of  them 
led  by  French  officers,  beset  him  in  his  march,  he  would  not 
be  able,  with  all  his  strength  and  military  skill,  to  reach  Fort 
Duquesne  without  a  body  of  rangers,  as  well  on  foot  as  horse- 
back. The  general,  however,  *'  despised  his  observationt."  % 
Still,  guards  had  ultimately  to  be  provided,  or  the  work  on  the 
road  would  have  been  abandoned. 

Braddock,  in  fact,  was  completely  chagrined  and  disap- 
pointed about  the  Indians.  The  Cherokees  and  Catawbas, 
whom  Dinwiddle  had  given  him  reason  to  expect  in  such 
numbers,  never  arrived. 

George  Croghan  reached  the  camp  with  but  about  fifty 
warriors,  whom  he  had  brought  from  Aughquick.  At  the 
general's  request  he  sent  a  messenger  to  invite  the  Delawares 
and  Shawnees  from  the  Ohio,  who  returned  with  two  chiefs  of 
the  former  tribe.  Among  the  sachems  thus  assembled  were 
some  of  Washington's  former  allies,  Scarooyadi,  alias  Mona- 
catoocha,  successor  to  the  half-king.  White  Thunder,  the  keeper 
of  the  speech-belts,  and  Silver  Heels,  so  called,  probably,  from 
being  swift  of  foot. 

*  Orme's  Journal.     Journal  of  the  Seamen's  detachment. 
t  Preface  to  Wirithrop  Sargent's  Introductory  Memoir. 
X  Colonial  Becords,  vi.  396. 


106  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Notwithstanding  his  secret  contempt  for  the  Indians,  Brad- 
dock,  agreeably  to  his  instructions,  treated  them  with  great 
ceremony.  A  grand  council  was  held  in  his  tent,  where  all  his 
officers  attended.  The  chiefs,  and  all  the  warriors,  came 
painted  and  decorated  for  war.  They  were  received  with  mili- 
tary honors,  the  guards  resting  on  their  fire-arms.  The  gen- 
eral made  them  a  speech  through  his  interpreter,  expressing 
the  grief  of  their  father,  the  great  king  of  England,  at  the 
death  of  the  half-king,  and  made  them  presents  to  console 
them.  They  in  return  promised  their  aid  as  guides  and 
scouts,  and  declared  eternal  enmity  to  the  French,  following 
the  declaration  with  the  war  song,  "making  a  terrible  noise." 

The  general,  to  regale  and  astonish  them,  ordered  all  the 
artillery  to  be  fired,  "  the  drums  and  fifes  playing  and  beating 
the  point  of  war  ;  "  the  fete  ended  by  their  feasting,  in  their 
own  camp,  on  a  bullock  which  the  general  had  given  them,  fol- 
lowing up  their  repast  by  dancing  the  war  dance  round  a  fire, 
to  the  sound  of  their  uncouth  drums  and  rattles,  "  making  night 
hideous  "  by  howls  and  yellings. 

"  I  have  engaged  between  forty  and  fifty  Indians  from  the 
frontiers  of  your  province  to  go  over  the  mountains  with  me," 
writes  Braddock  to  Governor  Morris,  "  and  shall  take  Croghan 
and  Montour  into  service."  Croghan  was  in  effect,  put  in 
command  of  the  Indians,  and  a  warrant  given  to  him  of 
captain. 

For  a  time  all  went  welL  The  Indians  had  their  separate 
camp,  where  they  passed  half  the  night  singing,  dancing,  and 
howling.  The  British  were  amused  by  their  strange  cere- 
monies, their  savage  antics,  and  savage  decorations.  The 
Indians,  on  the  other  hand,  loitered  by  day  about  the  English 
camp,  fiercely  painted  and  arrayed,  gazing  with  silent  admira- 
tion at  the  parade  of  the  troops,  their  marchings  and  evolu- 
tions, and  delighted  with  the  horse-races,  with  which  the 
young  officers  recreated  themselves. 

Unluckily  the  warriors  had  brought  their  families  with  them, 
to  Wills'  Creek,  and  the  women  were  even  fonder  than  the  men 
of  loitering  about  the  British  camp.  They  were  not  destitute 
of  attractions ;  for  the  young  squaws  resemble  the  gypsies, 
having  seductive  forms,  small  hands  and  feet,  and  soft  voices. 
Among  those  who  visited  the  camp  was  one  who  no  doubt 
passed  for  an  Indian  princess.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the 
sachem  White  Thunder,  and  bore  the  dazzling  name  of  Bright 
Lightning.*  The  charms  of  these  wild-wood  beauties  were 
igoon  acknowledged.  "  The  squaws,"  writes  Secretary  Peters^ 
*  Seamen's  Journal, 


LIPE  OP  WASBtNGTON.  107 

"  bring  in  money  plenty ;  the  officers  are  scandalously  fond  of 
them."^ 

The  jealousy  of  the  warriors  was  aroused;  some  of  them  be- 
came furious.  To  prevent  discord,  the  squaws  were  forbidden 
to  come  into  the  British  camp.  This  did  not  prevent  their 
being  sought  elsewhere.  It  was  ultimately  found  necessary, 
for  the  sake  of  quiet,  to  send  Bright  Lightning,  with  all  the 
other  women  and  children,  back  to  Aughquick.  White  Thun- 
der and  several  of  the  warriors,  accompanied  them  for  their 
protection. 

As  to  the  three  Delaware  chiefs,  they  returned  to  the  Ohio, 
promising  the  general  they  would  collect  their  warriors  together, 
and  meet  him  on  his  march.  They  never  kept  their  word. 
"  These  people  are  villains,  and  always  side  with  the  strongest," 
ssijs  a  slirewd  journalist  of  the  expedition. 

During  the  halt  of  the  troops  at  Wills'  Creek,  Washington 
had  been  sent  to  AVilliamsburg  to  bring  on  four  thousand 
pounds  for  the  military  chest.  He  returned,  after  a  fortnight's 
absence,  escorted  from  Winchester  by  eight  men,  "which 
eight  men,"  writes  he,  "  were  two  days  assembling,  but  I  be- 
lieve would  not  have  been  more  than  as  many  seconds  dispers- 
ing if  I  had  been  attacked." 

He  found  the  general  out  of  all  patience  and  temper  at  the 
delays  and  disappointments  in  regard  to  horses,  wagons,  and 
forage,  making  no  allowance  for  the  difficulties  incident  to  a 
new  country,  and  to  the  novel  and  great  demands  upon  its 
scanty  and  scattered  resources.  He  accused  the  army  contract- 
ors of  want  of  faith,  honor,  and  honesty  ;  and  in  his  moments 
of  passion,  which  were  many,  extended  the  stigma  to  the  whole 
country.  This  stung  the  patriotic  sensibility  of  Washington, 
and  overcame  his  usual  self-command,  and  the  proud  and  pas- 
sionate commander  was  occasionally  surprised  by  a  well-merited 
rebuke  from  his  aide-de-camp.  "  We  have  frequent  disputes 
on  this  head,"  writes  Washington,  "  which  are  maintained  with 
warmth  on  both  sides,  especially  on  his,  as  he  is  incapable  of 
arguing  without  it,  or  of  giving  up  any  point  he  asserts,  be  it 
ever  so  incompatible  with  reason  or  common  sense. 

The  same  pertinacity  was  maintained  with  respect  to  the 
Indians.  George  Croghan  informed  Washington  that  the 
sachems  considered  themselves  treated  with  slight,  in  never 
being  consulted  in  war  matters.  That  he  himself  had  repeatedly 
offered  the  services  of  the  warriors  under  his  command  as  scouts 
and  outguards,  but  his  offers  had  been  rejected.  Washington 
ventured  to  interfere,  and  to  urge  their  importance  for  such 
*  Letter  of  Peters  to  Governor  Morris. 


108  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

purposes,  especially  now,  when  they  were  approaching  the 
stronghold  of  the  enemy.  As  usual,  the  general  remained 
higoted  in  his  helief  of  the  all-sufficiency  of  well-disciplined 
troops. 

Either  from  disgust  thus  caused,  or  from  heing  actually  dis- 
missed, the  warriors  began  to  disappear  from  the  camp.  It  is 
said  that  Colonel  Innes,  whowas  to  remain  in  command  at  Fort 
Cumberland,  advised  the  dismissal  of  all  but  a  few  to  serve  as 
guides ;  certain  it  is,  before  Braddock  recommenced  his  march, 
none  remained  to  accompany  him  but  Scarooyadi,  and  eight  of 
his  warriors.* 

Seeing  the  general's  impatience  at  the  non-arrival  of  convey- 
ances, Washington  again  represented  to  him  the  difficulties  he 
would  encounter  in  attempting  to  traverse  the  mountains  with 
such  a  train  of  wheel-carriages,  assuring  him  it  would  be  the 
most  arduous  part  of  the  campaign ;  and  recommended,  from 
his  own  experience,  the  substitution,  as  much  as  possible,  of 
pack-horses.  Braddock,  however,  had  not  been  sufficiently 
harassed  by  frontier  campaigning  to  depart  from  his  European 
modes,  or  to  be  swayed  in  his  military  operations  by  so  green 
a  counselor. 

At  length  the  general  was  relieved  from  present  perplexities 
by  the  arrival  of  the  horses  and  wagons  which  Franklin  had 
undertaken  to  procure.  That  eminent  man,  with  his  charac- 
teristic promptness  and  unwearied  exertions,  and  by  his  great 
personal  popularity,  had  obtained  them  from  the  reluctant 
Pennsylvania  farmers,  being  obliged  to  pledge  his  own  respon- 
sibility for  their  being  fully  remunerated.  He  performed  this 
laborious  task  out  of  pure  zeal  for  the  public  service,  neither 
expecting  nor  receiving  emolument ;  and,  in  fact,  experiencing 
subsequently  great  delay  and  embarrassment  before  he  was  re- 
lieved from  the  pecuniary  responsibilities  thus  patriotically  in- 
curred. 

The  arrival  of  the  conveyances  put  Braddock  in  good  humor 
with  Pennsylvania.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Morris,  he  alludes 
to  the  threat  of  Sir  John  St.  Clair  to  go  through  that  province 
with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand.  "  He  is  ashamed  of  his  having 
talked  to  you  in  the  manner  he  did."     Still  the   general  made 

*  Braddock's  own  secretary,  William  Shirley,  was  disaffected  to  him. 
Writing  about  him  to  Governor  Morris,  he  satirically  observes;  "We 
have  a  general  most  judiciously  chosen  for  being  disqualitied  for  the  ser- 
vice he  is  employed  in,  in  almost  every  respect."  And  of  the  secondary 
oflBcers:  "  As  to  them,  I  don't  think  we  have  much  to  boast.  Some  are 
insolent  and  ignorant;  others  capable,  but  rather  aiming  at  showing 
their  own  abilities  than  making  a  proper  use  of  WiQm.— Colonial 
Becords,  vi.  405. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  109 

Franklin's  contract  for  wagons  the  sole  instance  in  which  he 
liad  not  experienced  deceit  and  villainy.  "I  hope,  however, 
in  spite  of  all  this,"  adds  he,  "  that  we  shall  pass  a  merry 
Christmas  together." 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

MARCH  FROM  FORT  CUMBERLAND. THE  GREAT  SAVAGE  MOUN- 
TAIN.  CAMP  AT  THE  LITTLE    MEADOWS. DIVISION  OF    THE 

FORCES. CAPTAIN    JACK  AND    HIS    BAND. SCAROOYADI    IN" 

DANGER. ILLNESS     OF     WASHINGTON. HIS     HALT    AT     THE 

TOUGHIOGHENY. MARCH  OF  BRADDOCK. THE  GREAT  MEAD- 
OWS.  LURKING   ENEMIES. THEIR    TRACKS. PRECAUTIONS 

THICKETTY  RUN. SCOUTS. INDIAN  MURDERS. FUNERAL 

OF  AN  INDIAN  WARRIOR. CAMP    ON  THE    MONONGAHELA. 

WASHINGTON'S      ARRIVAL     THERE. MARCH     FOR    FORT    DU- 

QUESNE. THE      FORDING    OP      THE       MONONGAHELA. THE 

BATTLE. THE  RETREAT. DEATH    OF  BRADDOCK. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  Braddock  set  off  from  Fort  Cumher- 
land  with  his  aides-de-camp,  and  others  of  his  staff,  and  his 
body-guard  of  light  horse.  Sir  Peter  Halket,  with  his  brigade, 
had  marched  three  days  previously  ;  and  a  detachment  of  six 
hundred  men,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Chapman,  and 
the  supervision  of  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  had  been  employed  up- 
ward's  of  ten  days  in  cutting  down  trees,  removing  rocks,  and 
opening  a  road. 

The  march  over  the  mountain  proved,  as  Washington  had 
foretold,  a  "  tremendous  undertaking."  It  was  with  difficulty 
the  heavily  laden  wagons  could  be  dragged  up  the  steep  and 
rugged  roads,  newly  made,  or  imperfectly  repaired.  Often 
they  extended  for  three  or  four  miles  in  a  straggling  and  broken 
line,  with  the  soldiers  so  dispersed,  in  guarding  them,  that  an 
attack  on  any  side  would  have  thrown  the  whole  in  confusion. 
It  was  the  dreary  region  of  the  great  Savage  Mountain,  and  the 
"  Shades  of  Death  "  that  was  again  made  to  echo  with  the  din 
of  arms. 

What  outraged'Washington's  notions  of  the  abstemious  fru- 
gality suitable  to  campaigning  in  the  "  backwoods,"  was  the 
great  number  of  horses  and  wagons  required  by  the  officers  for 
the  transportation  of  their  baggage,  camp  equipage,  and  a 
thousand  articles  of  artificial  necessity.     Simple  himself  in  his 


110  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tastes  and  habits,  and  manfully  indifferent  to  personal  indul- 
gences, he  almost  doubted  whether  such  sybarites  in  the  camp 
could  be  efficient  in  the  field. 

By  the  time  the  advanced  corps  had  struggled  over  two 
mountains,  and  through  the  intervening  forest,  and  reached 
(16th  June)  the  Little  Meadows,  where  Sir  John  St.  Clair  had 
made  a  temporary  camp,  General  Braddock  had  become  aware 
of  the  difference  between  campaigning  in  a  new  country,  or  on 
the  old  well-beaten  battle-grounds  of  Europe.  He  now  of  his 
own  accord  turned  to  Washington  for  advice,  though  it  must 
have  been  a  sore  trial  to  his  pride  to  seek  it  of  so  young  a  man  ; 
but  he  had  by  this  time  sufficient  proof  of  his  sagacity,  and  his 
knowledge  of  the  frontier. 

Thus  unexpectedly  called  on,  Washington  gave  his  counsel 
with  becoming  modesty,  but  with  his  accustomed  clearness. 
There  was  just  now  an  opportunity  to  strike  an  effective  blow 
at  Fort  Duquesne,  but  it  might  be  lost  by  delay.  The  garrison, 
according  to  credible  reports,  was  weak  ;  large  reinforcements 
and  supplies,  which  were  on  their  way,  wpuld  be  detained  by 
the  drought,  which  rendered  the  river  by  which  they  must  come 
low  and  unnavigable.  The  blow  must  be  struck  before  they 
could  arrive.  He  advised  the  general,  therefore,  to  divide  his 
forces ;  leave  one  part  to  come  on  with  the  stores  and  baggage, 
and  all  the  cumbrous  appurtenances  of  an  army,  and  to  throw 
himself  in  the  advance  with  the  other  part,  composed  of  his 
choicest  troops,  lightened  of  everything  superfluous  that  might 
impede  a  rapid  march.  , 

His  advice  was  adopted.  Twelve  hundred  men  selected  out 
of  all  the  companies,  and  furnished  with  ten  field-pieces,*  were 
to  form  the  first  division,  their  provisions  and  other  necessaries 
to  be  carried  on  pack-horses.  The  second  division,  with  all  the 
stores,  munitions,  and  heavy  baggage,  was  to  be  brought  on 
by  Colonel  Dunbar. 

The  least  practicable  part  of  the  arrangement  was  with  re- 
gard to  the  officers  of  the  advance.  Washington  had  urged  a 
retrenchment  of  their  baggage  and  camp  equipage,  that  as  many 
of  their  horses  as  possible  might  be  used  as  pack-horses.  Here 
was  the  difficulty.  Brought  up,^  many  of  them,  in  fashionable 
and  luxurious  life,  or  the  loitering  indulgence  of  country  quar- 
ters, they  were  so  encumbered  with  what  they  considered  in- 
dispensable necessaries,  that  out  of  two  hundred  and  twelve 
horses  generally  appropriated  to  their  use,  not  more  than  a 
dozen  could  be  spared  by  them  for  the  public  service.  Wash- 
ington, in  his  own  case,  acted  up  to  the  advice  he  had  given. 
He  retained  no  more  clothing  and  effects  with  him  than  would 


LIFE  OF  yVASUlNGTON.  •        HI 

about  half  fill  a  portmanteau,  and  gave  up  his  best  steed  as  a 
pack-horse — which  he  never  heard  of  afterwards."* 

During  the  halt  at  the  Little  Meadows,  Captain  Jack  and 
his  band  of  forest  rangers,  whom  Croghan  had  engaged  at 
Governor  Morris'  suggestion,  made  their  appearance  in  the 
camp;  armed  and  equipped  with  rifle,  knife,  hunting-shirts, 
leggings,  and  moccasins,  and  looking  almost  like  a  band  of 
Indians  as  they  issued  from  the  woods. 

The  captain  asked  an  interview  with  the  general,  by  whom, 
it  would  seem,  he  was  not  expected.  Braddock  received  him  in 
his  tent,  in  his  usual  stiff  and  stately  manner.  The  "Black 
Rifle "  spoke  of  himself  and  his  followers  as  men  inured  to 
hardships,  and  accustomed  to  deal  with  Indians,  who  preferred 
stealth  and  stratagem  to  open  warfare.  He  requested  his  com- 
pany should  be  employed  as  a  reconnoitering  party  to  beat  tip 
the  Indians  in  their  lurking-places  and  ambuscades. 

Braddock,  who  had  a  sovereign  contempt  for  the  chivalry  of 
the  woods,  and  despised  their  boasted  strategy,  replied  to  the 
hero  of  the  Pennsylvania  settlements  in  a  manner  to  which  he 
had  not  been  accustomed.  "  There  was  time  enough,"  he  said, 
"for  making  arrangements  ;  and  he  had  experienced  troops,  on 
whom  he  could  completely  rely  for  all  purposes." 

Captain  Jack  withdrew,  indignant  at  so  haughty  a  reception, 
and  informed  his  leathern-clad  followers  of  his  rebuff.  They 
forthwith  shouldered  their  rifles,  turned  their  backs  upon  the 
camp,  and,  headed  by  the  captain,  departed  in  Indian  file 
through  the  woods,  for  the  usual  scenes  of  their  exploits,  where 
men  knew  their  value,  the  banks  of  the  Juniata  or  the  Con- 
ococheague.f 

On  the  19th  of  June  Braddock's  first  division  set  out,  with 
less  than  thirty  carriages,  including  those  that  transported  am- 
munition for  the  artillery,  all  strongly  horsed.  The  Indians 
marched  with  the  advanced  party.  In  the  course  of  the  day, 
Scarooyadi  and  his  son  being  at  a  small  distance  from  the  line 
of  march,  were  surrounded  and  taken  by  some  French  and  In- 
dians. His  son  escaped,  and  brought  intelligence  to  his  war- 
riors ;  they  hastened  to  rescue  or  revenge  him,  but  found  him 
tied  to  a  tree.  The  French  had  been  disposed  to  shoot  him,  but 
their  savage  allies   declared  they  would  abandon   them  should 

*  Letter  to  J.  Augustine  Washington.     Sparks,  ii.  81. 

t  On  the  Conococheague  and  Juniata  is  left  the  history  of  their  ex- 
ploits. At  one  time  you  may  hear  of  the  band  neai-  Fort  Augusta,  next 
at  Fort  Franklin,  then  at  London,  then  at  Juniata, '--rapid  were  the 
movements  of  this  hardy  band.— Hazard's  Rerj,  ^mn,  \y,  390;  also^  Y, 
iv4< 


112      ♦  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

they  do  so  ;  having  some  tie  of  friendship  or  kindred  with  the 
chieftain,  who  thus  rejoined  the  troops  unharmed. 

Washington  was  disappointed  in  his  anticipations  of  a  rapid 
march.  The  general,  though  he  had  adopted  his  advice  in  the 
main,  could  not  carry  it  out  in  detail.  His  military  education 
was  in  the  way ;  higoted  to  the  regular  and  elaborate  tactics  of 
Europe,  he  could  not  stoop  to  the  make-shift  expedients  of  a 
new  country,  where  every  difficulty  is  encountered  and  mastered 
in  a  rough-and-ready  style.  "I  found,"  said  Washington, 
"  that  instead  of  pushing  on  with  vigor,  without  regarding  a 
little  rough  road,  they  were  halting  to  level  every  molehill,  and 
to  erect  bridges  over  every  brook,  by  which  means  we  were  four 
days  in  getting  twelve  miles." 

Eor  several  days  Washington  had  suffered  from  fever,  ac- 
companied by  intense  headache,  and  his  illness  increased  in 
violence  to  such  a  degree  that  he  was  unable  to  ride,  and  had 
to  be  conveyed  for  a  part  of  the  time  in  a  covered  wagon.  His 
illness  continued  without  intermission  until  the  23d,  "  when  I 
was  relieved,"  says  he,  "  by  the  general's  absolutely  ordering 
the  physician  to  give  me  Dr.  James'  powders :  one  of  the  most 
excellent  medicines  in  the  world.  It  gave  me  immediate  relief, 
and  removed  my  fever  and  other  complaints  in  four  days' 
time." 

He  was  still  unable  to  bear  the  jolting  of  the  wagon  but  it 
needed  another  interposition  of  the  kindly-intended  authority 
of  General  Braddock,  to  bring  him  to  a  halt  at  the  great  cross- 
ings of  the  Youghiogheny.  There  the  general  assigned  him  a 
guard,  provided  him  with  necessaries,  and  requested  him  to  re- 
main, under  care  of  his  physician.  Dr.  Craik,  until  the  arrival 
of  Colonel  Dunbar's  detachment,  which  was  two  days'  march  in 
the  rear  ;  giving  him  his  word  of  honor  that  he  should,  at  all 
events,  be  enabled  to  rejoin  the  main  division  before  it  reached 
the  Erench  fort.* 

This  kind  solicitude  on  the  part  of  Braddock,  shows  the  real 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  that  officer.  Doctor  Craik 
backed  the  general's  orders,  by  declaring  that  should  Washing- 
ton persevere  in  his  attempts  to  go  on  in  the  condition  he  then 
was,  his  life  would  be  in  danger.  Orme  also  joined  his  entreat- 
ies, and  promised,  if  he  would  remain,  he  would  keep  him  in- 
formed by  letter  of  every  occurrence  of  moment. 

Notwithstanding  all   kind  assurances   of  Braddock  and  his 
aide-de-camp  Orme,  it  was  with  gloomy  feelings  that  Washing- 
ton saw  the  troops   depart,  fearful  he  might  not  be  able  to   re- 
join them  in  time  for  the  attack  upon  the  fort,  which,  he  as- 
*  Letter  to  John  Augustine  Washington.     Sparks,  ii.  80. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  113 

sured  his  brother  aide-de-camp,  he  would  not  miss  for  five 
hundred  pounds. 

Leaving  Washington  at  the  Youghiogheny,  we  will  follow  the 
march  of  Braddock.  In  the  course  of  the  first  day  (June  24th,) 
he  came  to  a  deserted  Indian  camp ;  judging  from  the  number 
of  wigwams,  there  must  have  been  about  one  hundred  and 
seventy  warriors.  Some  of  the  trees  about  it  had  been  stripped, 
and  painted  with  threats,  and  bravadoes,  and  scurrilous  taunts 
written  on  them  in  the  French  language,  showing  that  there 
were  white  men  with  the  savages. 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak,  three  men  venturing  beyond 
the  sentinels  were  shot  and  scalped ;  parties  w^ere  immediately 
sent  out  to  scour  the  woods,  and  drive  in  the  stray  horses. 

The  day's  march  passed  by  the  Great  Meadows  and  Fort 
Necessity,  the  scene  of  Washington's  capitulation.  Several 
Indians  were  seen  hovering  in  the  woods,  and  the  light  horse 
and  Indian  allies  were  sent  out  to  surround  them,  but  did  not 
succeed.  In  crossing  a  mountain  beyond  the  Great  Meadows, 
the  carriages  had  to  be  lowered  with  the  assistance  of  the 
sailors,  by  means  of  tackle.  The  camp  for  the  night  was  about 
two  miles  beyond  Fort  Necessity.  Several  French  and  Indians 
endeavored  to  reconnoiter  it,  but  were  fired  upon  by  the  ad- 
vanced sentinels. 

The  following  day  (26th)  there  was  a  laborious  march  of  but 
four  miles,  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  the  road.  The  evening 
halt  was  at  another  deserted  Indian  camp,  strongly  posted  on 
a  high  rock,  with  a  steep  and  narrow  ascent ;  it  had  a  spring 
in  the  middle,  and  stood  at  the  termination  of  the  Indian  path 
to  the  Monongahela.  By  this  pass  the  party  had  come  which 
attacked  Washington  the  year  before,  in  the  Great  Meadows. 
The  Indians  and  French  too,  who  were  hovering  about  the 
army,  had  just  left  this  camp.  The  fires  they  had  left  were 
yet  burning.  The  French  had  inscribed  their  names  on  some 
of  the  trees  with  insulting  bravadoes,  and  the  Indians  had  des- 
ignated in  triumph  the  scalps  they  had  taken  two  days  pre- 
viously. A  party  was  sent  out  with  guides,  to  follow  their 
tracks  and  fall  on  them  in  the  night,  but  again  without  success. 
In  fact,  it  was  the  Indian  boast,  that  throughout  this  march  of 
Braddock,  they  saw  him  every  day  from  the  mountains,  and 
expected  to  be  able  to  shoot  down  his  soldiers  "  like  pigeons." 

The  march  continued  to  be  toilful  and  difficult  ;  on  one  day 
it  did  not  exceed  two  miles,  having  to  cut  a  passage  over  a 
mountain.  In  cleaning  their  guns  the  men  were  ordered  to 
draw  the  charge,  instead  of  firing  it  off.  No  fire  was  to  be 
lighted  in  front  of  the  pickets.  At  night,  the  men  were  t© 
take  their  arms  into  the  tents  with  them. 


114  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Further  on  the  precautions  became  still  greater.  On  the  ad- 
vanced pickets  the  men  were  in  two  divisions,  relieving  each 
other  every  two  hours.  Half  remained  on  guard  with  fixed 
bayonets,  the  other  half  lay  down  by  their  arms.  The  picket 
sentinels  were  doubled. 

On  the  4th  of  July  they  encamped  at  Thicketty  Kun.  The 
country  was  less  mountainous  and  rocky,  and  the  woods,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  white  pine,  were  more  open.  The  general 
now  supposed  himself  to  be  within  thirty  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne. 
Ever  since  his  halt  at  the  deserted  camp  on  the  rock  beyond 
the  Great  Meadows,  he  had  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  the 
Croghan  Indians  to  scout  in  the  direction  of  the  fort,  and  bring 
him  intelligence,  but  never  could  succeed.  They  had  probably 
been  deterred  by  the  number  of  French  and  Indian  tracks,  and 
by  the  recent  capture  of  Scarooyadi.  This  day,  however,  two 
consented  to  reconnoiter ;  and  shortly  after  their  departure, 
Christopher  Gist,  the  resolute  pioneer,  who  acted  as  guide  to 
the  general,  likewise  set  off  as  a  scout. 

The  Indians  returned  on  the  6th.  They  had  been  close  to 
Fort  Duquesne.  There  were  no  additional  works  there  ;  they 
saw  a  few  boats  under  the  fort,  and  one  with  a  white  flag  com- 
ing down  the  Ohio;  but  there  were  few  men  to  be  seen,  and 
few  tracks  of  any.  They  came  upon  an  unfortunate  officer, 
shooting  within  half  a  mile  of  the  fort,  and  brought  a  scalp  as  a 
trophy  of  his  fate.  Kone  of  the  passes  between  the  camp  and 
fort  were  occupied  ;  they  believed  there  were  few  men  abroad 
reconnoitering. 

Gist  returned  soon  after  them.  His  account  corroborated 
theirs  ;  but  he  had  seen  a  smoke  in  a  valley  between  the  camp 
and  the  fort,  made  probably  by  some  scouting  party.  He  had 
intended  to  prowl  about  the  fort  at  night,  but  had  been  dis- 
covered and  pursued  by  two  Indians,  and  narrowly  escaped  with 
his  life. 

On  the  same  day,  during  the  march,  three  or  four  men  loiter- 
ing in  the  rear  of  the  grenadiers  were  killed  and  scalped. 
Several  of  the  grenadiers  set  off  to  take  revenge.  They  came 
upon  a  party  of  Indians,  who  held  up  boughs  and  grounded 
their  arms,  the  concerted  sign  of  amity.  Not  perceiving  or 
understanding  it,  the  grenadiers  fired  upon  them,  and  one  fell. 
It  proved  to  be  the  son  of  Scarooyadi.  Aware  too  late  of 
their  error,  the  grenadiers  brought  the  body  to  the  camp.  The 
conduct  of  Braddock  was  admirable  on  the  occasion.  He  sent 
for  the  father  and  the  other  Indians,  and  condoled  with  them 
on  the  lamentable  occurrence ;  making  them  the  customary 
jxiesents  of  expiation.     But  what  was  more  to  the  point,  he 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  Ho 

caused  the  youth  to  be  buried  with  the  honors  of  war ;  at  his 
request  the  officers  attended  the  funeral,  and  a  volley  was  fired 
over  the  grave. 

These  soldierlike  tributes  of  respect  to  the  deceased,  and 
sympathy  with  the  survivors,  soothed  the  feelings  and  gratified 
the  pride  of  the  father,  and  attached  him  more  firmly  to  the 
service.  We  are  glad  to  record  an  anecdote  to  the  contrary  to  the 
general  contempt  for  the  Indians  with  which  Braddock  stands 
charged.     It  speaks  well  for  the  real  kindness  of  his  heart. 

We  will  return  now  to  Washington  in  his  sick  encampment 
on  the  banks  of  the  Youghiogheny,  where  he  was  left  repining 
at  the  departure  of  the  troops  without  him.  To  add  to  his  an- 
noyances, his  servant,  John  Alton,  a  faithful  Welshman,  was 
taken  ill  with  the  same  malady,  and  unable  to  render  him  any 
services.  Letters  from  his  fellow  aides-de-camp  showed  him 
the  kind  solicitude  that  was  felt  concerning  him.  At  the  gen- 
eral's desire.  Captain  Morris  wrote  to  him,  informing  him  of 
their  intended  halts. 

"  It  is  the  desire  of  every  individual  in  the  family,"  adds  he, 
"  and  the  general's  positive  commands  to  you,  not  to  stir,  but 
by  the  advice  of  the  person  [Dr.  Craik]  under  whose  care  you 
are,  till  you  are  better,  which  we  all  hope  will  be  very  soon." 

Orme,  too,  according  to  promise,  kept  him  informed  of  the  in- 
cidents of  the  march ;  the  frequent  night  alarms,  and  occasional 
scalping  parties.  The  night  alarms  Washington  considered 
mere  feints  designed  to  harass  the  men  and  retard  the  march ; 
the  enemy,  he  was  sure,  had  not  sufficient  force  for  a  serious  at- 
tack ;  and  he  was  glad  to  learn  from  Orme  that  the  men  were 
in  high  spirits  and  confident  of  success. 

He  now  considered  himself  sufficiently  recovered  to  rejoin 
the  troops,  and  his  only  anxiety  was  that  he  should  not  be  able 
to  do  it  in  time  for  the  great  blow.  He  was  rejoiced,  therefore, 
on  the  3d  of  July,  by  the  arrival  of  an  advanced  party  of  one 
hundred  men  convoying  provisions.  Being  still  too  weak  to 
mount  his  horse,  he  set  off  with  the  escort  in  a  covered  wagon ; 
and  after  a  most  fatiguing  journey,  over  mountain  and  through 
forest,  reached  Braddock's  camp  on  the  8th  of  July.  It  was  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Monongahela,  about  two  miles  from  the 
river,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  town  of  Queen  Aliquippa, 
and  about  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne. 

In  consequence  of  adhering  to  technical  rules  and  military 
forms,  General  Braddock  had  consumed  a  month  in  marching 
little  more  than  a  hundred  miles.  The  tardiness  of  his  pro- 
gress was  regarded  with  surprise  and  impatience  even  in 
Europe ;  where  his  patron,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  was  watch- 


'lie  lif:e  of  WAsmNQTON. 

ing  the  events  of  the  campaign  he  had  planned.  "  The  Duke/* 
writes  Horace  Walpole,  "  is  much  dissatisfied  at  the  slowness 
of  General  Braddock,  who  does  not  march  as  if  he  was  at  all 
inpatient  to  he  scalped.^''  The  insinuation  of  the  satirical  wit 
was  unmerited.  Braddock  was  a  stranger  to  fear  ;  hut  in  his 
movements  he  was  fettered  hy  system. 

Washington  was  warmly  received  on  his  arrival,  especially 
hy  his  fellow  aides-de-camp,  Morris  and  Orme.  He  was  just  in 
time,  for  the  attack  upon  Fort  Duquesne  was  to  he  made  on  the 
following  day.  The  neighboring  country  had  been  reconnoi- 
tered  to  determine  upon  a  plan  of  attack.  The  fort  stood  on 
the  same  side  of  the  Monongahela  with  the  camp ;  but  there 
was  a  narrow  pass  between  them  of  about  two  miles,  with  the 
river  on  the  left  and  a  very  high  mountain  on  the  right,  and  in 
its  present  state  quite  impassable  for  carriages.  The  route  de- 
dermined  on  was  to  cross  the  Monongahela  by  a  ford  immedi- 
ately opposite  to  the  camp ;  proceed  along  the  west  bank  of  the 
river,  for  about  five  miles,  then  recross  by  another  ford  to  the 
eastern  side,  and  push  on  to  the  fort.  The  river  at  these  fords 
was  shallow,  and  the  banks  were  not  steep. 

According  to  the  plan  of  arrangement.  Lieutenant-colonel 
Gage,  with  the  advance,  was  to  cross  the  river  before  daybreak, 
march  to  the  second  ford,  and  recrossing  there,  take  post  to 
secure  the  passage  of  the  main  force.  The  advance  was  to  be 
composed  of  two  companies  of  grenadiers,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
infantry,  the  independent  company  of  CaT)tain  Horatio  Gates, 
and  two  six-pounders. 

Washington,  who  had  already  seen  enough  of  regular  troops 
to  doubt  their  infallibility  in  wild  bush-fighting,  and  who  knew 
the  dangerous  nature  of  the  ground  they  were  to  traverse,  ven- 
tured to  suggest,  that  on  the  following  day  the  Virginia  ran- 
gers, being  accustomed  to  the  country  and  to  Indian  warfare, 
might  be  thrown  in  the  advance.  The  proposition  drew  an 
angry  reply  from  the  general,  indignant  very  probably,  that  a 
young  provincial  ofiicer  should  presume  to  school  a  veteran  like 
himself. 

Early  next  morning  (July  9th),  before  daylight.  Colonel 
Gage  crossed  with  the  advance.  He  was  followed,  at  some 
distance,  by  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  quartermaster-general,  with  a 
working  party  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  to  make  roads  for 
the  artillery  and  baggage.  They  had  with  them  their  wagons 
of  tools,  and  two  six-pounders.  A  party  of  about  thirty  savages 
rushed  out  of  the  woods  as  Colonel  Gage  advanced,  but  were 
put  to  flight  before  they  had  done  any  harm. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  117 

By  sunrise  tlie  main  body  turned  out  in  full  uniform.  At 
the  beating  of  "the  general/'  their  -arms,  which  had  been 
cleaned  the  night  before,  were  charged  with  fresh  cartridges. 
The  officers  were  perfectly  equipped.  All  looked  as  if  arrayed 
for  a  fete,  rather  than  a  battle.  Washington,  who  was  still 
weak  and  unwell,  mounted  his  horse,  and  joined  the  staff  of 
the  general,  who  was  scrutinizing  everything  with  the  eye  of  a 
martinet.  As  it  was  supposed  the  enemy  would  be  on  the 
watch  for  the  crossing  of  the  troops,  it  had  been  agreed  that 
they  should  do  it  in  the  greatest  order,  with  bayonets  fixed, 
colors  flying,  and  drums  and  fifes  beating  and  playing."*  They 
accordingly  made  a  gallant  appearance  as  they  forded  the 
Monongahela,  and  wound  along  its  banks,  and  through  the 
open  forests,  gleaming  and  glittering  in  morning  sunshine, 
and  stepping  buoyantly  to  the  "  Grenadiers'  March." 

Washington,  with  his  keen  and  youthful  relish  for  military 
affairs,  was  delighted  with  their  perfect  order  and  equipment, 
so  different  from  the  rough  bush-nghters,  to  which  he  had  been 
accustomed.  E-oused  to  new  life,  he  forgot  his  recent  ailments, 
and  broke  forth  in  expressions  of  enjoyment  and  admiration, 
as  he  rode  in  company  with  his  fellow  aides-de-camp,  Orme  and 
Morris.  Often,  in  after  life,  he  used  to  speak  of  the  effect 
upon  him  of  the  first  sight  of  a  well-disciplined  European  army, 
marching  in  high  confidence  and  bright  array,  on  the  eve  of  a 
battle. 

About  noon  they  reached  the  second  ford.  G-age,  with  the 
advance,  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Monongahela,  posted 
according  to  orders  ;  but  the  river  bank  had  not  been  sufficiently 
sloped.  The  artillery  and  baggage  drew  up  along  the  beach 
and  halted  until  one,  when  the  second  crossing  took  place, 
drums  beating,  fifes  playing,  and  colors  flying  as  before. 
When  all  had  passed,  there  was  again  a  halt  close  by  a  small 
stream  called  Frazier's  Eun,  until  the  general  arranged  the 
order  of  march. 

First  went  the  advance,  under  Gage,  preceded  by^the  engi- 
neers and  guides,  and  six  light  horsemen. 

Then,  Sir  John  St.  Clair  and  the  working  partj^,  with  their 
wagons  and  the  two  six-pounders.  On  each  side  were  thrown 
out  four  flanking  parties. 

Then,  at  some  distance,  the  general  was  to  follow  with  the 
main  body,  the  artillery  and  baggage  were  preceded  and  flanked 
by  light  horse  and  squads  of  infantry  ;  while  the  Virginian 
and  other  provincial  troops,  were  to  form  the  rear-guard. 

The  ground  before  them  was  level  until  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  river,  where  a  rising  ground,  covered  with  long  grass^ 

*  Orme's  Journal. 


118  LIFi:  OF  WASHINGTON. 

low  Ibuslies,  and  scattered  trees,  sloped  gently  up  to  a  range  Gi\ 
hills.     The  whole    country,  generally  speaking,  was    a  forest, 
with  no  clear  opening  but  the  road,   which  was  about  twelve 
feet  wide  and  flanked  by  two  ravines   concealed  by  trees   and 
thickets. 

Had  Braddock  been  schooled  in  the  warfare  of  the  woods,  or 
had  he  adopted  the  suggestions  of  Washington,  which  he  re- 
jected so  impatiently,  he  would  have  thrown  out  Indian  scouts 
or  Virginian  rangers  in  the  advance,  and  on  the  flanks,  to  beat 
up  the  woods  and  ravines  ;  but,  as  has  been  sarcastically  ob-  '\ 
served,  he  suffered  his  troops  to  march  forward  through  the 
centre  of  the  plain,  with  merely  their  usual  guides  and  flanking 
parties,  "  as  if  in  a  review  in  St.  James's  Park." 

It  was  now  near  two  o'clock.  The  advanced  party  and  the. 
working  party  had  crossed  the  plain  and  were  ascending  the 
rising  ground.  Braddock  was  about  to  follow  with  the  main 
body,  and  had  given  the  word  to  march,  when  he  heard  an  ex- 
cessively quick  and  heavy  firing  in  front.  Washington,  who 
was  with  the  general,  surmised  that  the  evil  he  had  apprehended 
had  come  to  pass.  For  want  of  scouting  parties  ahead,  the  ad- 
vance parties  were  suddenly  aud  warmly  attacked.  Braddock 
ordered  Lieutenant-colonel  Burton  to  hasten  to  their  assistance' 
with  the  vanguard  of  the  main  body,  eight  hundred  strong. 
The  residue,  four  hundred,  were  halted,  and  posted  to  protect 
the  artillery  and  baggage. 

The  firing  continued  with  fearful  yelling.  There  was  a  ter- 
rible uproar.  By  the  general's  orders  an  aide-de-camp  spurred 
forward  to  bring  him  an  account  of  the  natnre  of  the  attack. 
Without  waiting  for  his  return  the  general  himself,  finding  the 
turmoil  increase,  moved  forward,  leaving  Sir  Peter  Halket  with 
the  command  of  the  baggage.* 

The  van  of  the  advance  had  indeed  been  taken  by  surprise.. 
It  was  composed  of  two  companies  of  pioneers  to  cut  the  road, 
and  two  flank  companies  of  grenadiers  to  protect  them.  Sud- 
denly the  engineer  who  preceded  them  to  mark  out  the  road 
gave  the  alarm,  "  French  and  Indians  !  "  A  body  of  them  was : 
approaching  rapidly,  cheered  on  by  a  Frenchman  in  gayly 
fringed  hunting-shirt,  whose  gorget  showed  him  to  be  an  officer. 
There  was  sharp  firing  on  both  sides  at  first.  Several  of  the 
enemy  fell;  among  them  their  leader;  but  a  murderous  fire' 
broke  out  from  among  trees  and  a  ravine  on  the  right,  and  the 
woods  resounded  with  unearthly  whoops  and  yellings.  The 
Indian  rifle  was    at  work,  leveled  by  unseen  hands.     Most  of 

*Orme's  Journal. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  119 

the  grenadiers  and  many  of  the  pioneers  were  shot  down.     The 
survivors  were  driven  in  on  the  advance. 

Gage  ordered  his  men  to  fix  bayonets  and  form  in  order  of 
battle.     They  did  so    in  hurry  and    trepidation.     He    would 
have  scaled  a  hill  on  the  right  whence  there  was   the    severest 
firing.     Not    a  platoon  would  quit    the  line  of  march.     They 
were  more  dismayed  by  the  yells  than  by  the  rifles  of  the  unseen 
savages.     The  latter  extended  themselves  along  the  hill  and  in 
the  ravines ;  but  their  whereabouts  was   only  known  by  their 
demoniac  cries  and  the  puffs  of  smoke  from   their  rifles.     The 
soldiers  fired   wherever    they  saw  the    smoke.     Their  officers 
tried  in  vain  to  restrain  them  until   they  should  see  their  foe. 
All  orders  were  unheeded ;  in  their  fright  they  shot  at  random, 
[killing  some  of  their  own  flanking  parties,  and  of  the  vanguard, 
LS  they  came  running  in.     The  covert  fire  grew  more  intense. 
\%n  a  short  time  most  of  the  officers  and  many  of  the  men  of  the 
Ivance  were    killed  or  wounded.     Colonel  Gage  himself  re- 
ceived a  wound.     The  advance  fell    back  in  dismay  upon   Sir 
^ohn  St.  Clair's  corps,  which  was  equally  dismayed.     The  can- 
ion  belonging  to  it  were  deserted. 
Colonel  Burton   had  come  up  with  the  reinforcement,  and 
|"was  forming  his  men    to  face  the    rising  ground  on  the    right, 
^when  both  of  the  advanced  detachments    fell  back  upon  him, 
and  all  now  was  confusion. 

By  this  time  the  general  was  upon  the  ground.     He  tried  to 

rally  the  men.     "  They  would  fight,"  they  said,  "  if  they  could 

see  their  enemy ;  but  it  was  useless  to   fire  at  trees  and  bushes, 

ind  they  could  not  stand  to  be  shot  down  by  an   invisible  foe." 

The  colors  were  advanced  in   different  places  to  separate  the 

len  of  the  two  regiments.     The  general  ordered  the  officers  to 

form  the  men,  tell  them  off  into  small  divisions,  and    advance 

qth  them ;  but  the  soldiers  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  either 

\hy  threats  or  entreaties.     The   Virginia  troops,  accustomed  to 

|the  Indian  mode  of  fighting,  scattered  themselves,  and  took 

)ost  behind  trees,  whence  they  could  pick  off  the  lurking  foe. 

]n  this  way  they,  in    some    degree,   protected  the    regulars. 

f-Washington  advised  General  Braddock  to  adopt  the  same  plan 

dth  the  regulars ;  but  he  persisted  in  forming  them  into  pla- 

boons  ;  consequently  they  were  cut  down  from  behind  logs  and 

krees  as  fast  as  they  could  advance.     Several  attempted  to  take 

^to  the  trees,  without   orders,  but  the  general  stormed  at  them, 

called  them  cowards,  and  even  struck  them  with  the  flat  of  his 

sword.     Several  of  the  Virginians,  who    had  taken   post  and 

were  doing  good  service  in  this  manner,  were  slain  by  the  fire 

of  the  regulars,  directed  wherever  a  smoke  appeq,red  among  the 

trees, 


120  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  officers  behaved  with  consummate  bravery  ;  and  Wash- 
ington beheld  with  admiration  those  who,  in  camp  or  on  the 
march,  had  appeared  to  him  to  have  an  almost  effeminate  regard 
for  personal  ease  and  convenience,  now  exposing  themselves  to 
imminent  death,  with  a  courage  that  kindled  with  the  thicken- 
ing horrors.  In  the  vain  hope  of  inspiriting  the  men  to  drive 
off  the  enemy  from  the  flanks  and  regain  the  cannon,  they 
would  dash  forward  singly  or  in  groups.  They  were  invariably 
shot  down ;  for  the  Indians  aimed  from  their  coverts  at  every 
one  on  horseback,  or  who  appeared  to  have  command. 

Some  were  killed  by  random  shots  of  their  own  men,  who, 
crowded  in  masses,  fired  with  affrighted  rapidity,  but  without 
aim.  Soldiers  in  the  front  ranks  were  killed  by  those  in  the 
rear.  Between  friend  and  foe,  the  slaughter  of  the  officers  was 
terrible.  All  this  while  the  woods  resounded  with  the  un- 
earthly yellings  of  the  savages,  and  now  and  then  one  of  them, 
hideously  painted,  and  ruffling  with  feathered  crest,  would  rush 
forth  to  scalp  an  officer  who  had  fallen,  or  seize  a  horse  gallop- 
ing wildly  without  a  rider. 

Throughout  this  disastrous  day,  Washington  distinguished 
himself  by  his  courage  and  presence  of  mind.  His  brother 
aids,  Orme  and  Morris,  were  wounded  and  disabled  early  in  the 
action,  and  the  whole  duty  of  carrying  the  orders  of  the  general 
devolved  on  him.  His  danger  was  imminent  and  incessant. 
He  was  in  every  part  of  the  field,  a  conspicuous  mark  for  the 
murderous  rifle.  Two  horses  were  shot  under  him.  Four 
bullets  passed  through  his  coat.  His  escape  without  a  wound 
was  almost  miraculous.  Dr.  Craik,  who  was  on  the  field  at- 
tending to  the  wounded,  watched  him  with  anxiety  as  he  rode 
about  in  the  most  exposed  manner,  and  used  to  say  that  he  ex- 
pected every  moment  to  see  him  fall.  At  one  time  he  was  sent 
to  the  main  body  to  bring  the  artillery  into  action.  All  there 
was  likewise  in  confusion  ;  for  the  Indians  had  extended  them- 
selves along  the  ravine  so  as  to  flank  the  reserve  and  carry 
slaughter  into  the  ranks.  Sir  Peter  Halket  had  been  shot 
down  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  The  men  who  should  have 
served  the  guns  were  paralyzed.  Had  they  raked  the  ravines 
with  grape-shot  the  day  might  have  been  saved.  In  his  ardor 
Washington  sprang  from  his  horse,  wheeled  and  pointed  a 
brass  field-piece  with  his  own  hand,  and  directed  an  effective 
discharge  into  the  woods  ;  but  neither  his  efforts  nor  example 
were  of  avail.     The  men  could  not  be  kept  to  the  guns. 

Braddock  still  remained  in  the  centre  of  the  field,  in  the 
desperate  hope  of  retrieving  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  The 
Virginia  rangers,  who  had  been  most  efficient  in  covering  his 


LIFE  OF  WASBmOTOm  121 

position,  were  nearly  all  killed  or  wounded.  His  secretary, 
Shirley,  had  fallen  by  his  side.  Many  of  his  officers  had  been 
slain  within  his  sight,  and  many  of  his  guard  of  Virginia  light 
horse.  Five  horses  had  been  killed  under  him;  still  he  kept 
his  ground,  vainly  endeavoring  to  check  the  flight  of  his  men, 
or  at  least  to  effect  their  retreat  in  good  order.  At  length  a 
bullet  passed  through  his  right  arm,  and  lodged  itself  in  his 
lungs.  He  fell  from  his  horse,  but  was  caught  by  Captain 
Stewart  of  the  Virginia  guards,  who,  with  the  assistance  of 
another  American,  and  a  servant,  placed  him  in  a  tumbril.  It 
was  with  much  difficulty  they  got  him  out  of  the  field — in  his 
despair  he  desired  to  be  left  there."*^ 

The  rout  now  became  complete.  Baggage,  stores,  artillery, 
everything  was  abandoned.  The  wagoners  took  each  a  horse 
out  of  his  team,  and  fled.  The  officers  were  swept  off  with  il^e 
men  in  this  headlong  flight.  It  was  rendered  more  precipitate 
by  the  shouts  and  yells  of  the  savages,  numbers  of  whom  rushed 
forth  from  their  coverts,  and  pursued  the  fugitives  to  the  river' 
side,  killing  several  as  they  dashed  across  in  tumultuous  con- 
fusion. Fortunately  for  the  latter,  the  victors  gave  up  the  pur- 
suit in  their  eagerness  to  collect  the  spoil. 

The  shattered  army  continued  its  flight  after  it  had  crossed 
the  Monongahela,  a  wretched  wreck  of  the  brilliant  little  force 
that  had  recently  gleamed  along  its  banks,  confident  of  victory. 
Out  of  eighty-six  officers,  twenty-six  had  been  killed,  and  thirty- 
six  wounded.  The  number  of  rank  and  file  killed  and  wounded 
was  upwards  of  seven  hundred.  The  Virginia  corps  had  suf- 
fered the  most ;  one  company  had  been  almost  annihilated,  an- 
other, beside  those  killed  and  wounded  in  the  ranks,  had  lost 
all  its  officers,  even  to  the  corporal. 

About  a  hundred  men  were  brought  to  a  halt  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  ford  of  the  river.  Here  was  Braddock,  with 
his  wounded  aides-de-camp  and  some  of  his  officers.  Dr.  Craik 
dressing  his  wounds,  and  Washington  attending  him  with 
faithful  assiduity.  Braddock  was  still  able  to  give  orders,  and 
had  a  faint  hope  of  being  able  to  keep  possession  of  the  ground 
until  reinforced.  Most  of  the  men  were  stationed  in  a  very  ad- 
vantageous spot  about  two  hundred  yards  from  the  road ;  and 
Lieutenant-colonel  Burton  posted  out  small  parties  and  senti- 
nels. Before  an  hour  had  elapsed  most  of  the  men  had  stolen 
off.  Being  thus  deserted,  Braddock  and  his  officers  continued 
their  retreat ;  he  would  have  mounted  his  horse,  but  was  unable, 
and  had  to  be    carried  by    soldiers.     Orme   and  Morris  were 

*  Journal  of  the  Seamen^  s  detachmenU 


122  TAFE  OF  WASBIN^TOK. 

placed  on  litters  borne  by  horses.  They  were  subsequently 
joined  by  Colonel  Gage  with  eighty  men  whom  he  had  rallied. 

Washington  in  the  meantime,  notwithstanding  his  weak 
state,  being  found  most  efficient  in  frontier  service,  was  sent  to 
Colonel  Dunbar's  camp,  forty  miles  distant,  with  orders  for 
him  to  hurry  forward  provisions,  hospital  stores,  and  wagons 
for  the  wounded,  under  the  escort  of  two  grenadier  companies. 
It  was  a  hard  and  a  melancholy  ride  throughout  the  night  and 
the  following  day.  The  tidings  of  the  defeat  preceded  him, 
borne  by  the  wagoners,  who  had  mounted  their  horses,  on 
Braddock's  fall,  and  fled  from  the  field  of  battle.  They  had 
arrived,  haggard,  at  Dunbar's  camp  at  mid-day ;  the  Indian 
yells  still  ringing  in  their  ears.  "  All  was  lost  !  "  they  cried. 
*^  Braddock  was  killed  !  They  had  seen  wounded  officers  borne 
off  from  the  field  in  bloody  sheets !  The  troops  were  all  cut  to 
pieces  !  "  A  panic  fell  upon  the  camp.  The  drums  beat  to 
arms.  Many  of  the  soldiers,  wagoners,  and  attendants,  took  to 
flight ;  but  most  of  them  were  forced  back  by  the  sentinels. 

Washington  arrived  at  the  camp  in  the  evening,  and  found 
the  agitation  still  prevailing.  The  orders  which  he  brought 
were  executed  during  the  night,  and  he  was  in  the  saddle 
early  in  the  morning  accompanying  the  convoy  of  supplies. 
At  Grist's  plantation,  about  thirteen  miles  off,  he  met  Gage  and 
his  scanty  force  escorting  Braddock  and  his  wounded  officers. 
Captain  Stewart  and  a  sad  remnant  of  the  Virginia  light  horse 
still  accompanied  the  general  as  his  guard.  The  captain  had 
been  unremitting  in  his  attentions  to  him  during  the  retreat. 
There  was  a  halt  of  one  day  at  Dunbar's  camp  for  the  repose 
and  relief  of  the  wounded.  On  the  13th  they  resumed  their 
melancholy  march,  and  that  night  reached  the  Great  Meadows. 

The  proud  spirit  of  Braddock  was  broken  by  his  defeat.  He 
remained  silent  the  first  evening  after  the  battle,  only  ejaculat- 
ing at  night,  ^'  Who  would  have  thought  it !  "  He  was  equally 
silent  the  following  day ;  yet  hope  still  seemed  to  linger  in  his 
breast,  from  another  ejaculation:  "We  shall  better  know  how 
to  deal  with  them  another  time  ! "  * 

He  was  grateful  for  the  attentions  paid  to  him  by  Captain 
Stewart  and  Washington,  and  more  than  once,  it  is  said,  ex- 
pressed his  admiration  of  the  gallantry  displayed  by  the  Vir- 
ginians in   the  action.     It  is   said,  moreover,  that  in   his  last 

*  Captain  Orme,  who  gave  these  particulars  to  Dr.  Franklin,  says 
that  Braddock  "died  a  few  minutes  after."  This,  according  to  his  ac- 
count, was  on  the  second  day;  whereas  the  general  survived  upwards  of 
four  days.  Orme,  being  conveyed  on  a  litter  at  some  distance  from  the 
general,  could  only  sneak  of  his  moods  from  hearsay. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  123 

moments,  he  apologized  to  Washington  for  the  petulance  with 
which  he  had  rejected  his  advice,  and  bequeathed  to  him  his 
favorite  charger,  and  his  faithful  servant,  Bishop,  who  had 
helped  to  convey  him  from  the  field. 

Some  of  these  facts,  it  is  true,  rest  on  tradition,  yet  we 
are  willing  to  believe  them,  as  they  impart  a  gleam  of  just 
and  generous  feeling  to  his  closing  scene.  He  died  on  the 
night  of  the  13th,  at  the  Great  Meadows,  the  place  of  Wash- 
ington's discomfiture  in  the  previous  year.  His  obsequies  were 
performed  before  break  of  day.  The  chaplain  having  been 
wounded,  Washington  read  the  funeral  service.  All  was  done 
in  sadness,  and  without  parade,  so  as  not  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  lurking  savages,  who  might  discover  and  outrage  his 
grave.  It  is  doubtful  even  whether  a  volley  was  fired  over  it, 
that  last  military  honor  which  he  had  recently  paid  to  the  re- 
mains of  an  Indian  warrior.  The  place  of  his  sepulture,  how- 
ever, is  still  known,  and  pointed  out. 

Reproach  spared  him  not,  even  when  in  his  grave.  The 
failure  of  the  expedition  was  attributed,  both  in  England  and 
America,  to  his  obstinacy,  his  technical  pedantry,  and  his  mili- 
tary conceit.  He  had  been  continually  warned  to  be  on  his 
guard  against  ambush  and  surprise,  but  without  avail.  Had 
he  taken  the  advice  urged  on  him  by  Washington  and  others,  to 
employ  scouting  parties  of  Indians  and  rangers,  he  would  never 
have  been  so  signally  surprised  and  defeated. 

Still  his  dauntless  conduct  on  the  field  of  battle  shows  him 
to  have  been  a  man  of  fearless  spirit ;  and  he  was  universally 
allowed  to  be  an  accomplished  disciplinarian.  His  melancholy 
end,  too,  disarms  censure  of  its  asperity.  Whatever  may  have 
been  his  faults  and  errors,  he  in  a  manner  expiated  them  by  the 
hardest  lot  that  can  befall  a  brave  soldier,  ambitious  of  renown 
— an  unhonored  grave  in  a  strange  land ;  a  memory  clouded  by 
misfortune  and  a  name  forever  coupled  with  defeat. 

NOTE. 

In  narrating  the  expedition  of  Braddock,  we  have  frequently  cited 
the  journals  of  Captain  Orme  and  of  the  "  Seamen's  detachment." 
They  were  procured  in  England  by  the  Hon.  Joseph  K.  Ingersoll,  while 
Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  recently  published  by  the  His- 
torical Society  of  Pennsylvania,  ably  edited  and  illustrated  with  an  ad- 
mirable Introductory  Memoir  by  Winthrop  Sargent,  Esq.,  member  of 
that  Society, 


124  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

ARRIVAL  AT    FORT    CUMBERLAND. LETTERS    OF    WASHINGTON 

TO  HIS  FAMILY. PANIC  OF  DUNBAR. 

The  obsequies  of  the  unfortunate  Braddock  being  finished, 
the  escort  continued  its  retreat  with  the  sick  and  wounded. 
Washington,  assisted  by  Dr.  Craik,  watched  with  assiduity 
over  his  comrades,  Orme  and  Morris.  As  the  horses  which 
bore  their  litters  were  nearly  knocked  up,  he  despatched  mes- 
sengers to  the  commander  of  Fort  Cumberland  requesting  that 
others  might  be  sent  on,  and  that  comfortable  quarters  might 
be  prepared  for  the  reception  of  those  officers. 

On  the  17th,  the  sad  cavalcade  reached  the  fort,  and  were 
1-elieved  from  the  incessant  apprehension  of  pursuit.  Here, 
too,  flying  reports  had  preceded  them,  brought  by  fugitives 
from  the  battle ;  who  with  the  disposition  usual  in  such  cases 
to  exaggerate,  had  represented  the  whole  army  as  massacred. 
Fearing  these  reports  might  reach  home,  and  affect  his  family, 
Washington  wrote  to  his  mother,  and  his  brother,  John  Augus- 
tine, apprising  them  of  his  safety.  "The  Virginia  troops," 
says  he,  in  a  letter  to  his  mother,  "  showed  a  good  deal  of 
bravery,  and  were  nearly  all  killed The  dastardly  be- 
havior of  those  they  called  regulars  exposed  all  others,  that 
were  ordered  to  do  their  duty,  to  almost  certain  death  ;  and,  at 
last,  in  despite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  officers  to  the  contrary, 
they  ran,  as  sheep  pursued  by  dogs,  and  it  was  impossible  to 
rally  them." 

To  his  brother  he  writes:  "As  I  have  heard,  since  my 
arrival  at  this  place,  a  circumstantial  account  of  my  death  and 
dying  speech,  I  take  this  early  opportunity  of  contradicting 
the  first,  and  of  assuring  you  that  I  have  not  composed  the 
latter.  But,  by  the  all-powerful  dispensations  of  Providence,  I 
have  been  protected  beyond  all  human  probability,  or  expecta- 
tion ;  for  I  had  four  bullets  through  my  coat,  and  two  horses 
shot  under  me,  yet  escaped  unhurt,  though  death  was  leveling 
my  companions  on  every  side  of  me  ! 

"  We  have  been  most  scandalously  beaten  by  a  trifling 
body  of  men ;  but  fatigue  and  want  of  time  prevent  me  from 
giving  you  any  of  the  details,  until  I  have  the  happiness  of 
peeing  you  at  Mount  Vernon,  which  I  now  most  earnestly  wish 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  .  125 

for,  since  we  are  driven  in  thus  far.  A  feeble  state  of  health 
obliges  me  to  halt  here  for  two  or  three  days  to  recover  a  little 
strength,  that  I  may  thereby  be  enabled  to  proceed  homeward 
with  more  ease." 

Dunbar  arrived  shortly  afterward  with  the  remainder  of  the 
army.  No  one  seems  to  have  shared  more  largely  in  the  panic 
of  the  vulgar  than  that  officer.  From  the  moment  he  received 
tidings  of  the  defeat,  his  camp  became  a  scene  of  confusion. 
All  the  ammunition,  stores,  and  artillery  were  destroyed,  to 
prevent,  it  was  said,  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ; 
but  as  it  was  afterwards  alleged,  to  relieve  the  terror-stricken 
commander  from  all  incumbrances,  and  furnish  him  with  more 
horses  in  his  flight  toward  the  settlements.'*' 

At  Cumberland  his  forces  amounted  to  fifteen  hundred 
effective  men  ;  enough  for  a  brave  stand  to  protect  the  frontier, 
and  recover  some  of  the  lost  honor ;  but  he  merely  paused  to 
leave  the  sick  and  wounded  under  care  of  two  Virginia  and 
Maryland  companies,  and  some  of  the  train,  and  then  continued 
his  hasty  march,  or  rather  flight,  through  the  country,  not 
thinking  himself  safe,  as  was  sneeringly  intimated,  until  he 
arrived  in  Philadelphia,  where  the  inhabitants  could  protect 
him. 

The  true  reason  why  the  enemy  did  not  pursue  the  retreat- 
ing army  was  not  known  until  some  time  afterwards,  and 
added  to  the  disgrace  of  the  defeat.  They  were  not  the  main 
force  of  the  French,  but  a  mere  detachment  of  72  regulars,  146 
Canadians,  and  637  Indians,  855  in  all,  led  by  Captain  de 
Beaujeu.  De  Contrecoeur,  the  commander  of  Fort  Duquesne, 
had  received  information,  through  his  scouts,  that  the  English, 
three  thousand  strong,  were  within  six  leagues  of  his  fort. 
Despairing  of  making  an  effectual  defense  against  such  a 
superior  force,  he  was  balancing  in  his  mind  whether  to  abandon 
his  fort  without  awaiting  their  arrival,  or  to  capitulate  on 
honorable  terms.  In  this  dilemma  Beaujeu  prevailed  on  him 
to  let  him  sally  forth  with  a  detachment  to  form  an  ambush, 
and  give  check  to  the  enemy.  De  Beaujeu  was  to  have  taken 
post  at  the  river,  and  disputed  the  passage  at  the  fort.  For 
that  purpose  he  was  hurrying  forward  when,  discovered  by 
the  pioneers  of  Gage's  advance  part}^  He  was  a  gallant 
officer,  and  fell  at  the  beginning  of  the  fight.  The  whole 
number  of  killed  and  wounded  of  French  and  Indians,  did  not 
exceed  seventy. 

Such  was  the  scanty  force  which  the  imagination  of  the 
panic-stricken  army  had  magnified  into  a  great  host,  and  from 
*  Franklin's  Autobiography, 


126  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

which  they  had  fled  in  breathless  terror,  abandoning  the  whole 
frontier.  No  one  could  be  more  surprised  than  the  French 
commander  himself,  when  the  ambuscading  party  returned  in 
triumph  with  a  long  train  of  pack-horses  laden  with  booty,  the 
savages  uncouthly  clad  in  the  garments  of  the  slain,  grenadier 
caps,  officers'  gold-laced  coats,  and  glittering  epaulettes ; 
flourishing  swords  and  sabres,  or  firing  off  muskets,  and  utter- 
ing fiendlike  yells  of  victory.  But  when  De  Contrecoeur  was 
informed  of  the  utter  rout  and  destruction  of  the  much  dreaded 
British  army,  his  joy  was  complete.  He  ordered  the  guns  of 
the  fort  to  be  fired  in  triumph,  and  sent  out  troops  in  pursuit 
of  the  fugitives. 

The  affair  of  Braddock  remains  a  memorable  event  in  Ameri- 
can history,  and  has  been  characterized  as  ^'the  most  extraor- 
dinary victory  ever  obtained,  and  the  furthest  flight  ever 
made."  It  struck  a  fatal  blow  to  the  deference  for  British 
prowess,  which  once  amounted  almost  to  bigotry  throughout 
the  provinces.  "This  whole  transaction,"  observes  Franklin, 
in  his  autobiography,  "gave  us  the  first  suspicion  that  our 
exalted  ideas  of  the  prowess  of  British  regular  troops  had  not 
been  well  foundc^ 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

COSTS  OF    CAMPAIGNING. MEASURES     FOR     PUBLIC  SAFETY. 

WASHINGTON  IN    COMMAND. HEAD-QUARTERS    AT  WINCHES- 
TER.  LORD    FAIRFAX    AND  HIS    TROOP    OF    HORSE. INDIAN 

RAVAGES. PANIC  AT    WINCHESTER. CAUSE  OF  THE  ALARM. 

OPERATIONS  ELSEWHERE. SHIRLEY  AGAINST  NIAGARA. 

JOHNSON  AGAINST  CROWN  POINT. AFFAIR  AT  LAKE  GEORGE. 

DEATH  OF  DIESKAU. 

Washington  arrived  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  26th  of  July, 
still  in  feeble  condition  from  his  long  illness.  His  campaigning, 
thus  far,  had  trenched  upon  his  private  fortune,  and  impaired 
one  of  the  best  of  constitutions. 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother  Augustine,  then  a  member  of 
Assembly  at  Williamsburg,  he  casts  up  the  result  of  his  fron- 
tier experience.  "  I  was  employed,"  he  writes,  "  to  go  a  jour- 
ney in  the  winter,  when  I  believe  few  or  none  would  have 
undertaken  it  and  what  did  I  get  by  it  ? — my  expenses  borne  \ 
I  w^s  then  appointed,  with  trifling  pay^  to  conduct  a  handful 


UFE  OF  WASHWaTOK.  127 

of  men  to  the  Ohio.  What  did  I  get  by  that  ?  Why,  after 
putting  myself  to  a  considerable  expense  in  equipping  and 
providing  necessaries  for  the  campaign,  I  went  out,  was  soundly 
beaten,  and  lost  all !  Came  in,  and  had  my  commission  taken 
from  me,  or,  in  other  words,  my  command  reduced,  under  pre- 
tense of  an  order  from  home  (England).  I  then  went  out  a 
volunteer  with  General  Braddock,  and  lost  all  my  horses,  and 
many  other  things.  But  this  being  a  voluntary  act,  I  ought 
not  to  have  mentioned  it ;  nor  should  I  have  done  it,  were 
it  not  to  show  that  I  have  been  on  the  losing  order  ever  since 
I  entered  the  service,  which  is  now  nearly  two  years." 

What  a  striking  lesson  is  furnished  by  this  brief  summary  ! 
How  little  was  he  aware  of  the  vast  advantages  he  was  acquir- 
ing in  this  school  of  bitter  experience !  "  In  the  hand  of 
Heaven  he  stood,"  to  be  shaped  and  trained  for  its  great  pur- 
pose ;  and  every  trial  and  vicissitude  of  his  early  life  but  fitted 
him  to  cope  with  one  or  other  of  the  varied  and  multifarious 
duties  of  his  future  destiny. 

But  though  under  the  saddening  influence  of  debility  and 
defeat,  he  might  count  the  cost  of  his  campaigning,  the  martial 
spirit  still  burned  within  him.  His  connection  with  the  army, 
it  is  true,  had  ceased  at  the  death  of  Braddock,  but  his  mili- 
tary duties  continued  as  adjutant-general  of  the  northern  di- 
vision of  the  province,  and  he  immediately  issued  orders  for 
the  county  lieutenants  to  hold  the  militia  in  readiness  for  parade 
and  exercise,  foreseeing  that,  in  the  present  defenseless  state 
of  the  frontier,  there  would  be  need  of  their  services. 

Tidings  of  the  rout  and  retreat  of  the  army  had  circulated 
far  and  near,  and  spread  consternation  throughout  the  country. 
Immediate  incursions  both  of  Erench  and  Indians  were  appre- 
hended ;  and  volunteer  companies  began  to  form,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  marching  across  the  mountains  to  the  scene  of  danger. 
It  was  intimated  to  Washington  that  his  services  would  again 
be  wanted  on  the  frontier.  He  declared  instantly  that  he  was 
ready  to  serve  his  country  to  the  extent  of  his  powers  ;  but 
never  on  the  same  terms  as  heretofore. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  Governor  Dinwiddle  convened  the 
Assembly  to  devise  measures  for  the  public  safety.  The  sense 
of  danger  had  quickened  the  slow  patriotism  of  the  burgesses ; 
they  no  longer  held  back  si\pplies;  forty  thousand  pounds 
were  promptly  voted,  and  orders  issued  for  the  raising  of  a 
regiment  of  one  thousand  men. 

Washington's  friends  urged  him  to  present  himself  at  Wil- 
liamsburg as  a  candidate  for  the  command ;  they  were  confident 


128  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  Ills  success,  notwithstanding  that  strong  interest  was  making 
for  the  governor's  favorite,  Colonel  Innes. 

With  mingled  modesty  and  pride,  Washington  declined  to 
be  a  solicitor.  The  only  terms,  he  said,  on  which  he  would 
accept  a  command,  were  a  certainty  as  to  rank  and  emoluments, 
a  right  to  appoint  his  field-officers,  and  the  supply  of  a  sufficient 
military  chest ;  but  to  solicit  the  command,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  make  stipulations,  would  be  a  little  incongruous,  and 
carry  with  it  the  face  of  self-sufficiency.  "If,"  added  he,  "the 
command  should  be  offered  to  me,  the  case  will  then  be  altered, 
as  I  should  be  at  liberty  to  make  such  objections  as  reason,  and 
my  small  experience,  have  pointed  out." 

While  this  was  in  agitation,  he  received  letters  from  his 
mother,  again  imploring  him  not  to  risk  himself  in  these 
frontier  wars.  His  answer  was  characteristic,  blending  the 
filial  deference  with  which  he  was  accustomed  from  childhood 
to  treat  her,  with  a  calm  patriotism  of  the  Koman  stamp. 

"  Honored  Madam  :  If  it  is  in  my  power  to  avoid  going  to 
the  Ohio  again,  I  shall ;  but  if  the  command  is  pressed  upon  me 
by  the  general  voice  of  the  country,  and  offered  upon  such  terms 
as  cannot  be  objected  against,  it  would  reflect  dishonor  on  me 
to  refuse  it ;  and  that,  I  am  sure,  must,  and  ought,  to  give  you 
greater  uneasiness  than  my  going  in  an  honorable  command. 
Upon  no  other  terms  will  I  accept  it.  At  present  I  have  no 
proposals  made  to  me,  nor  have  I  any  ad\ice  of  such  an  inten- 
tion, except  from  private  hands." 

On  the  very  day  that  this  letter  was  despatched  (Aug.  14th), 
he  received  intelligence  of  his  appointment  to  the  command  on 
the  terms  specified  in  his  letters  to  his  friends.  His  commis- 
sion nominated  him  commander-in-chief  of  all  the»forces  raised 
or  to  be  raised  in  the  colony.  The  Assembly  also  voted  three 
hundred  pounds  to  him,  and  proportionate  sums  to  the  other 
officers,  and  to  the  privates  of  the  Virginia  companies,  in  con- 
sideration of  their  gallant  conduct,  and  their  losses  in  the  late 
battle. 

The  officers  next  in  command  under  him  were  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Adam  Stephen,  and  Major  Andrew  Lewis.  The  former, 
it  will  be  recollected,  had  been  with  him  in  the  unfortunate 
affair  at  the  Great  Meadows ;  his  advance  in  rank  shows  that 
his  conduct  had  been  meritorious. 

The  appointi^ent  of  Washington  to  his  present  station  was 
the  more  gratifying  and  honorable  from  being  a  popular  one, 
made  in    deference  to  public  sentiment ;  to  which  Governor 
Dinwiddle  w^as  obliged  to  sacrifice  his  strong  inclination  in  favor  , 
of  Colonel  Innes.     It  is  thought  that  the  governor  never  after-  ; 


LIFE  OF  WASHlNGTOn.  129 

wards  regarded  Washington  with  a  friendly  eye.  His  conduct 
towards  him  subsequently  was  on  various  occasions  cold  and 
ungracious.  * 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  early  popularity  of  Washington 
was  not  the  result  of  brilliant  achievements  nor  signal  success  ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  rose  among  trials  and  reverses,  and  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  been  the  fruit  of  defeats.  It  remains  an 
honorable  testimony  of  Virginian  intelligence,  that  the  ster- 
ling, enduring,  but  undazzling  qualities  of  Washington  were 
thus  early  discerned  and  appreciated,  though  only  heralded  by 
misfortunes.  The  admirable  manner  in  which  he  had  conducted 
himself  under  these  misfortunes,  and  the  sagacity  and  practical 
wisdom  he  had  displayed  on  all  occasions,  were  universally 
acknowledged ;  and  it  was  observed  that,  had  his  modest  coun- 
sels been  adopted  by  the  unfortunate  Braddock,  a  totally  dif- 
ferent result  might  have  attended  the  late  campaign. 

An  instance  of  this  high  appreciation  of  his  merits  occurs 
in  a  sermon  preached  on  the  17th  of  August  by  the  E,ev.  Samuel 
Davis,  wherein  he  cites  him  as  "that  heroic  youth.  Colonel 
Washington,  whom  I  cannot  but  hope  Providence  has  hitherto 
preserved  in  so  signal  a  manner  for  some  important  service 
to  his  country."  The  expressions  of  the  worthy  clergyman 
may  have  been  deemed  enthusiastic  at  the  time  j  viewed  in 
connection  with  subsequent  events  they  appear  almost  pro- 
phetic. 

Having  held  a  conference  with  Governor  Dinwiddle  at  Wil- 
liamsburg, and  received  his  instructions,  Washington  repaired, 
on  the  14th  of  September,  to  Winchester,  where  he  fixed  his 
head-quarters.  It  was  a  place  as  yet  of  trifling  magnitude,  but 
important  from  its  position ;  being  a  central  point  where  the 
main  roads  met,  leading  from  north  to  south,  and  east  to  west, 
and  commanding  the  channels  of  traffic  and  communication  be- 
tween some  of  the  most  important  colonies  and  a  great  extent 
of  frontier. 

Here  he  was  brought  into  frequent  and  cordial  communica- 
tion with  his  old  friend  Lord  Fairfax.  The  stir  of  war  had  re- 
vived a  spark  of  that  military  fire  which  animated  the  veteran 
nobleman  in  the  days  of  his  youth,  when  an  officer  in  the 
cavalry  regiment  of  the  Blues.  He  was  a  lord-lieutenant  of 
the  county.  Greenway  Court  was  his  head-quarters.  He  had 
organized  a  troop  of  horse,  which  occasionally  was  exercised 
about  the  lawn  of  his  domain,  and  he  was  now  as  prompt  to 
mount  his  steed  for  a   cavalry  parade  as  he  ever  was  for  a  fox 

*  Spark's  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  61,  note. 


130  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

chase.  The  arrival  of  Washington  frequently  brought  the  old 
nobleman  to  Winchester  to  aid  the  young  commander  with  his 
counsels  or  his  sword. 

His  services  were  soon  put  in  requisition.  Washington, 
having  visited  the  frontier  posts,  established  recruiting  places, 
and  taken  other  measures  of  security,  had  set  off  for  Williams- 
burg on  military  business,  when  an  express  arrived  at  Winches- 
ter from  Colonel  Stephen,  who  commanded  at  Fort  Cumberland, 
giving  the  alarm  that  a  body  of  Indians  were  ravaging  the 
country,  burning  the  houses,  and  slaughtering  the  inhabitants, 
the  express  was  instantly  forwarded  after  Washington  ;  in  the 
meantime.  Lord  Fairfax  sent  out  orders  for  the  militia  of  Fair-* 
fax  and  Prince  William  counties  to  arm  and  hasten  to  the  de- 
fense of  Winchester,  where  all  was  confusion  and  affright. 
One  fearful  account  followed  another.  The  whole  country  be- 
yond it  was  said  to  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  savages.  They  had 
blockaded  the  rangers  in  the  little  fortresses  or  outposts  pro- 
vided for  the  protection  of  neighborhoods.  They  were  advanc- 
ing upon  Winchester  with  fire,  tomahawk,  and  scalping-knife. 
The  country  people  were  flocking  into  the  town  for  safety — -the 
townspeople  were  moving  off  to  the  settlements  beyond  the 
Blue  Kidge.  The  beautiful  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  likely 
to  become  a  scene  of  savage  desolation. 

In  the  height  of  the  confusion  Washington  rode  into  the 
town.  He  had  been  overtaken  by  Colonel  Stephen's  express. 
His  presence  inspired  some  degree  of  confidence,  and  he  suc- 
ceeded in  stopping  most  of  the  fugitives.  'He  would  have  taken 
the  field  at  once  against  the  savages,  believing  their  numbers 
to  be  few;  but  not  more  than  twenty-five  of  the  militia  could 
be  mustered  for  the  service.  The  rest  refused  to  stir — they 
would  rather  die  with  their  wives  and  children. 

Expresses  were  sent  off  to  hurry  up  the  militia  ordered  out 
by  Lord  Fairfax.  Scouts  were  ordered  out  to  discover  the 
number  of  the  foe,  and  convey  assurances  of  succor  to 
the  rangers  said  to  be  blocked  up  in  the  fortresses,  though 
Washington  suspected  the  latter  to  be  "  more  encompassed  by 
fear  than  by  the  enemy."  Smiths  were  set  to  work  to  furbish 
up  and  repair  such  fire-arms  as  were  in  the  place,  and  wagons 
were  sent  off  for  musket  balls,  flints,  and  provisions. 

Instead,  however,  of  animated  cooperation,  Washington  was 
encountered  by  difficulties  at  every  step.  The  wagons  in 
question  had  to  be  impressed,  and  the  wagoners  compelled  by 
force  to  assist.  "  No  orders,"  writes  he,  "  are  obeyed,  but  such 
as  a  party  of  soldiers  or  my  own  drawn  sword  enforces.  With- 
out this,  not  a  single  horse,  for  the  most  earnest    occasion,  can 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  131 

be  had — to  such  a  pitch  has  the  insolence  of  these  people  ar- 
rived, by  having  every  point  hitherto  submitted  to  them. 
However,  I  have  given  up  none,  where  his  Majesty's  service 
requires  the  contrary,  and  where  my  proceedings  are  justified 
by  my  instructions  ;  nor  will  I,  unless  they  execute  what  they 
threaten — that  is,  blow  out  our  brains." 

One  is  tempted  to  smile  at  this  tirade  about  the  "  insolence 
of  the  people,"  and  this  zeal  for  "His  Majesty's  service,"  on 
the  part  of  Washington ;  but  he  was  as  yet  a  young  man  and  a 
young  officer  ;  loyal  to  his  sovereign,  and  with  high  notions 
of  military  authority,  which  he  had  acquired  in  the  camp  of 
Braddock. 

What  he  thus  terms  insolence  was  the  dawning  spirit  of  in- 
ependence,  which  he  was  afterwards  the  foremost  to  cherish 
and  promote ;  and  which,  in  the  present  instance,  had  been 
provoked  by  the  rough  treatment  from  the  military,  which  the 
wagoners  and  others  of  the  yeomanry  had  experienced  when 
employed  in  Braddock's  campaign,  and  by  the  neglect  to  pay 
them  for  their  services.  Much  of  Washington's  difficulties  also 
arose,  doubtlessly,  from  the  inefficiency  of  the  military  laws, 
for  an  amendment  of  which  he  had  in  vain  made  repeated  ap- 
plications to  Governor  Dinwiddie. 

In  the  meantime  the  panic  and  confusion  increased.  On 
Sunday  an  express  hurried  into  town,  breathless  with  haste  and 
terror.  The  Indians,  he  said,  were  but  twelve  miles  off ;  they 
had  attacked  the  house  of  Isaac  Julian ;  the  inhabitants  were 
flying  for  their  lives.  Washington  immediately  ordered  the 
town  guards  to  be  strengthened  ;  armed  some  recruits  who  had 
just  arrived,  and  sent  out  two  scouts  to  reconnoiter  the  enemy. 
It  was  a  sleepless  night  in  Winchester.  Horror  increased  with 
the  dawn  ;  before  the  men  could  be  paraded  a  second  express 
arrived,  ten  times  more  terrified  than  the  former.  The  Indians 
were  within  four  miles  of  the  town,  killing  and  destroying  all 
before  them.  He  had  heard  the  constant  firing  of  the  savages 
and  the  shrieks  of  their  victims. 

The  terrorof  Winchester  now  passed  all  bounds.  Washington 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  about  forty  men,  militia  and  recruits, 
and  pushed  for  the  scene  of  carnage. 

The  result  is  almost  too  ludicrous  for  record.  The  whole 
cause  of  the  alarm  proved  to  be  three  drunken  troopers,  carous- 
ing, hallooing,  uttering  the  most  unheard  of  imprecations,  and 
ever  and  anon  firing  off  their  pistols.  Washington  interrupted 
them  in  the  midst  of  their  revel  and  blasphemy,  and  conducted 
them  prisoners  to  town. 

The  reported  attack  on  the  house  of  Isaac  Julian  proved 


132  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

equally  an  absurd  exaggeration.  The  ferocious  party  of  Indians 
turned  out  to  be  a  mulatto  and  a  negro  inquest  of  cattle.  They 
had  been  seen  by  a  child  of  Julian,  who  alarmed  his  father,  who 
alarmed  the  neighborhood. 

"  These  circumstances,''  says  Washington,  "  show  what  a 
panic  prevails  among  the  people ;  how  much  thev  are  all 
alarmed  at  the  most  usual  and  customary  cries ;  and  yet  how 
impossible  it  is  to  get  them  to  act  in  any  respect  for  their  com- 
mon safety." 

They  certainly  present  a  lively  picture  of  the  feverish  state  of 
a  frontier  community,  hourly  in  danger  of  Indian  ravage  and 
butchery ;  than  which  no  kind  of  warfare  is  more  fraught  with 
real  and  imaginary  horrors. 

The  alarm  thus  originating  had  spread  throughout  the  country. 
A  captain,  who  arrived  with  recruits  from  Alexandria,  reported 
that  he  had  found  the  road  across  the  Blue  Eidge  obstructed  by 
crowds  of  people  flying  for  their  lives,  whom  he  endeavored  in 
vain  to  stop.     They  declared  that  Winchester  was  in  flames ! 

At  length  the  band  of  Indians,  whose  ravages  had  produced 
this  consternation  throughout  the  land,  and  whose  numbers 
did  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty,  being  satiated  with  car- 
nage, conflagration,  and  plunder,  retreated,  bearing  off  spoils 
and  captives.  Intelligent  scouts  sent  out  by  Washington, 
followed  their  traces,  and  brought  back  certain  intelligence 
that  they  had  recrossed  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  returned 
to  their  homes  on  the  Ohio.  This  report  allayed  the  public 
panic,  and  restored  temporary  quiet  to  the  harassed  frontier. 

Most  of  the  Indians  engaged  in  these  ravages  were  Delawares 
and  .Shawnees,  who,  since  Braddock's  defeat,  had  been  gained 
over  by  the  French.  A  prinViipal  instigator  was  said  to  be 
Washington's  old  acquaintance,  Shengis,  and  a  reward  was 
offered  for  his  head. 

Scarooyadi,  successor  to  the  half-king,  remained  true  to  the 
English,  and  vindicated  his  people  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil of  Pennsylvania  from  the  charge  of  having  had  any  share  in 
the  late  massacres.  As  to  the  defeat  at  the  Monongahela,  "  it 
was  owing,"  he  said,  "  to  the  pride  and  ignorance  of  that  great 
general  (Braddock)  that  came  from  England.  He  is  now  dead ; 
but  he  was  a  bad  man  when  he  was  alive.  He  looked  upon  us 
as  dogs,  and  would  never  hear  anything  that  was  said  to  him. 
We  often  endeavored  to  advise  him,  and  tell  him  of  the  danger 
he  was  in  with  his  soldiers  ;  but  he  never  appeared  pleased  with 
us,  and  that  was  the  reason  that  a  great  many  of  our  warriors 
left  him."* 

*  p:azard's  Register  of  Penn.  v.  252,266, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  133 

Scarooyadi  was  ready  witli  Hs  warriors  to  take  up  the  hatchet 
again  with  their  English  brothers  against  the  French.  "  Let 
us  unite  our  strength,"  said  he ;  "  you  are  numerous,  and  all 
the  English  governors  along  your  sea-shore  can  raise  men 
enough ;  but  don^t  let  those  that  come  from  over  the  great  seas 
be  concerned  any  more.  T/iei/  are  unfit  to  fight  in  the  woods. 
Let  us  go  ourselves — we  that  came  out  of  this  ground,^' 

No  one  felt  more  strongly  than  Washington  the  importance, 
at  this  trying  juncture,  of  securing  the  assistance  of  these 
forest  warriors.  "  It  is  in  their  power,"  said  he,  "  to  be  of  infinite 
use  to  us ;  and  without  Indians,  we  shall  never  be  able  to  cope 
with  these  cruel  foes  to  our  country."  * 

Washington  had  now  time  to  inform  himself  of  the  fate  of 
the  other  enterprises  included  in  this'  year's  plan  of  military 
operations.  We  shall  briefly  dispose  of  them,  for  the  sake  of 
carrying  on  the  general  course  of  events.  The  history  of 
Washington  is  linked  with  the  history  of  the  colonies.  The 
defeat  of  Braddock  paralyzed  the  expedition  against  Niagara. 
Many  of  General  Shirley's  troops,  which  were  assembled 
at  Albany,  struck  with  the  consternation  which  it  caused 
throughout  the  country,  deserted.  Most  of  the  bateau  men, 
who  were  to  transport  stores  by  various  streams,  returned 
home.  It  was  near  the  end  of  August  before  Shirley  was  in 
force  at  Oswego.  Time  was  lost  in  building  boats  for  the  lake. 
Storms  and  head  winds  ensued ;  then  sickness  :  military  inca- 
pacity in  the  general  completed  the  list  of  impediments.  De- 
ferring the  completion  of  the  enterprise  until  the  following 
year,  Shirley  returned  to  Albany  with  the  main  part  of  his 
forces  in  October,  leaving  about  seven  hundred  men  to  garrison 
the  fortifications  he  had  commenced  at  Oswego. 

To  General  William  Johnson,  it  will  be  recollected,  had  been 
confided  the  expedition  against  Crown  Point,  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  Preparations  were  made  for  it  in  Albany,  whence  the 
troops  were  to  march,  and  the  artillery,  ammunition,  and  stores 
to  be  conveyed  up  the  Hudson  to  the  carrying-place  between 
that  river  and  Lake  St.  Sacrament,  as  it  was  termed  by  the 
French,  but  Lake  George,  as  Johnson  named  it,  in  honor  of  his 
sovereign.  At  the  carrying-place  a  fort  was  commenced,  sub- 
sequently called  Fort  Edward.  Part  of  the  troops  remained 
under  General  Lyman  to  complete  and  garrison  it ;  the  main 
force  proceeded  under  General  Johnson  to  Lake  George,  the 
plan  being  to  descend  that  lake  to  its  outlet  at  Ticonderoga,  in 
Lake  Champlain.  Having  to  attend  the  arrival  of  bateaux  for- 
warded for  the  purpose  from  Albany  by  the  carrying-place, 
Letter  to  Dlnwiddie. 


134  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

Johnson  encamped  at  the  south  end  of  the  lake.  He  had  with 
him  hetween  five  and  six  thousand  troops  of  'New  York  and 
New  England,  and  a  cost  of  Mohawk  warriors,  loyally  devoted 
to  him. 

It  so  happened  that  a  French  force  of  upwards  of  three  thou- 
sand men,  under  the  Baron  de  Dieskau,  an  old  general  of  high 
reputation,  had  recently  arrived  at  Quebec,  destined  against 
Oswego.  The  baron  had  proceeded  to  Montreal,  and  sent  for- 
ward thence  seven  hundred  of  his  troops,  when  news  arrived  of 
the  army  gathering  on  Lake  George  for  the  attack  on  Crown 
Point  perhaps  for  an  inroad  into  Canada.  The  public  were  in 
consternation ;  yielding  to  their  importunities,  the  baron  took 
post  at  Crown  Point  for  its  defense.  Beside  his  regular  troops, 
he  had  with  him  eight  hundred  Canadians,  and  seven  hun- 
dred Indians  of  different  tribes.  The  latter  were  under  the 
general  command  of  the  Chevalier  Legardeurde  de  St  Pierre, 
the  verteran  officer  to  whom  Washington  had  delivered  the 
despatches  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  on  his  diplomatic  mission 
to  the  frontier.  The  chevalier  was  a  man  of  great  influence 
among  the  Indians. 

In  the  meantime  Johnson  remained  encamped  at  the  south 
end  of  Lake  George,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  his  bateaux.  The 
camp  was  protected  in  the  rear  by  the  lake,  in  front  by  a  bul- 
wark of  felled  trees  ;  and  was  flanked  by  thickly  wooded  swamps. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  the  Indian 'scouts  brought  word 
that  they  had  discovered  three  large  roads  made  tlirough  the 
forests  toward  Fort  Edward.  An  attack  on  that  post  was  ap- 
prehended. Adams,  a  hardy  wagoner,  rode  express  with  orders 
to  the  commander  to  draw  all  the  troops  within  the  works. 
About  midnight  came  other  scouts.  They  had  seen  the  French 
within  four  miles  of  the  carrying-place.  They  had  heard  the 
report  of  a  musket,  and  the  voice  of  a  man  crying  for  mercy, 
supposed  to  be  the  unfortunate  Adams.  In  the  morning  Col- 
onel Williams  was  detached  with  one  thousand  men,  and  two 
hundred  Indians,  to  intercept  the  enemy  in  their  retreat. 

Within  two  hours  after  their  departure  a  heavy  fire  of  musk- 
etry, in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  about  three  or  four  miles  off, 
told  of  a  warm  encounter.  The  drums  beat  to  arms  ;  all  were 
at  their  posts.  The  firing  grew  sharper  and  sharper,  and 
nearer  and  nearer.  The  detachment  under  Williams  was 
evidently  retreating.  Colonel  Cole  was  sent  with  three  hundred 
men  to  cover  their  retreat.  The  breastwork  of  trees  was  man- 
ned. Some  heavy  cannon  were  dragged  up  to  strengthen  the 
fort.  A  number  of  men  were  stationed  with  a  field-piece  on  an 
eminence  on  the  left  flank. 


LIFE  OF  WASIItNGTOn.  135 

In  a  short  time  fugitives  made  their  appearance  ;  first  singly 
then  in  masses,  flying  in  confusion,  with  a  rattling  fire  behind 
them,  and  the  horrible  Indian  war-whoop.  Consternation  seized 
upon  the  camp,  especially  when  the  French  emerged  from  the 
forest  in  battle  array,  led  on  by  the  Baron  Dieskau,  the  gallant 
commander  of  Crown  Point.  Had  all  his  troops  been  as  daring  as 
himself,  the  camp  might  have  been  carried  by  assault ;  but  the 
Canadians  and  Indians  held  back,  posted  themselves  behind 
trees,  and  took  to  bush-fighting. 

The  baron  was  left  with  his  regulars  (two  hundred  grena- 
diers) in  front  of  the  camp.  He  kept  up  a  fire  by  platoons,  but 
at  too  great  a  distance  to  do  much  mischief ;  the  Canadians  and 
Indians  fired  from  their  coverts.  The  artillery  played  on  them 
in  return.  The  camp,  having  recovered  from  its  panic,  opened 
a  fire  of  musketry.  The  engagement  became  general.  The 
French  grenadiers  stood  their  ground  bravely  for  a  long  time, 
but  were  dreadfully  cut  up  by  the  artillery  and  small  arms. 
The  action  slackened  on  the  part  of  the  French,  until,  after  a 
long  contest,  they  gave  way.  Johnson's  men  and  the  Indians 
then  leaped  over  the  breastwork,  and  a  chance-medley  fight 
ensued,  that  ended  in  the  slaughter,  rout,  or  capture  of  the 
enemy. 

The  Baron  de  Dieskau  had  been  disabled  by  a  wound  in  the 
leg.  One  of  his  men,  who  had  endeavored  to  assist  him,  was 
shot  down  by  his  side.  The  baron,  left  alone  in  the  retreat, 
was  found  by  the  pursuers  leaning  against  the  stump  of  a  tree. 
As  they  approached,  he  felt  for  his  watch,  to  insure  kind  treat- 
ment by  delivering  it  up.  A  soldier,  thinking  he  was  drawing 
forth  a  pistol  to .  defend  himself,  shot  him  through  the  hips. 
He  was  conveyed  a  prisoner  to  the  camp,  but  ultimatelj^  died 
of  his  wounds. 

The  baron  had  really  set  off  from  Crown  Point  to  surprise 
Fort  Edward,  and,  if  successful,  to  push  on  to  Albany  and 
Schenectady,  lay  them  in  ashes,  and  cut  off  all  communication 
with  Oswego.  The  Canadians  and  Indians,  however,  refused 
to  attack  the  fort,  fearful  of  its  cannon;  he  had  changed  his 
plan,  therefore,  and  determined  to  surprise  the  camp.  In  the 
encounter  with  the  detachment  under  Williams,  the  brave  Cheva- 
lier Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre  lost  his  life.  On  the  part  of  the 
Americans,  Hendrick,  a  famous  old  Mohawk  sachem,  grand  ally 
of  General  Johnson,  was  slain. 

Johnson  himself  received  a  slight  wound  early  in  the  action, 
and  retired  to  his  tent.  He  did  not  follow  up  the  victory  as  he 
should  have  done,  alleging  that  it  was  first  necessary  to  build 
a  strong  fort  at  his  encampment,  by  way  of  keeping  up  a  com- 


136  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

munication  with  Albany,  and  by  the  time  this  was  completed, 
it  would  be  too  late  to  advance  against  Crown  Point.  He  ac- 
cordingly erected  a  stockaded  fort,  which  received  the  name  of 
William  Henry  ;  and,  having  garrisoned  it  returned  to  Albany. 
His  services,  although  they  gained  him  no  laurel-wreath,  were 
rewarded  by  government  with  five  thousand  pounds,  and  a  bar- 
onetcy ;  and  he  was  made  superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs.^ 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

REFORM  IN  THE  MILITIA  LAWS. DISCIPLINE   OF    THE    TROOPS. 

DAGWORTHY  AND  THE  QUESTION  OF  PRECEDENCE. WASH- 
INGTON'S JOURNEY  TO    BOSTON. STYLE    OF    TRAVELLING. 

CONFERENCE     WITH      SHIRLEY. THE    EARL    OF    LOUDOUN. 

MILITARY  RULE    FOR  THE    COLONIES. WASHINGTON  AT  NEW 

YORK. MISS  MARY  PHILIPSE. 

Mortifying  experience  had  convicted  Washington  of  the 
inefficency  of  the  militia  laws,  and  he  now  set  about  effecting 
a  reformation.  Through  his  great  and  persevering  efforts, 
an  act  was  passed  in  the  Virginia  Leigislature  giving  prompt 
operation  to  courts-martial ;  punishing  insubordination,  mutiny, 
and  desertion  with  adequate  severity ;  strengthening  the  au- 
thority of  a  commander,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  enforce  order 
and  discipline  among  officers  as  well  as  privates  ;  and  to  avail 
himself,  in  time  of  emergency,  and  for  the  common  safety,  of 
the  means  and  services  of  individuals. 

This  being  effected,  he  proceeded  to  fill  up  his  companies, 
and  to  enforce  this  newly  defined  authority  within  his  camp. 
All  gaming,  drinking,  quarreling,  swearing,  and  similar  ex- 
cesses, were  prohibited  under  severe  penalties. 

In  disciplining  his  men,  they  were  instructed  not  merely  in 
ordinary  and  regular  tactics,  but  in  all  the  strategy  of  Indian 
warfare,  and  what  is  called  "  bush-fighting," — a  knowledge 
indispensable  in  the  wild  wars  of  the  wilderness.  Stockaded 
forts,  too,  were  constructed  at  various  points,  as  places  of  refuge 
and  defense,  in  exposed  neighborhoods.  Under  shelter  of  these, 
the  inhabitants  began  to  return  to  their  deserted  homes.  A 
shorter  and  better  road,  also,  was  opened  by  him  between  Win- 

*  Johnson's  Letter  to  the  Colonial  Governors,  Sep.  9th,  1753.  London 
Mag.  1755,  p.  544.     Holmes'  Am.  Annals,  vol.  ii.  p.  63.    4th  ed.  1829. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  137 

Chester  and  Cumberland^  for  the  transmission  of  reinforcements 
and  supplies. 

His  exertions,  however,  were  impeded  by  one  of  those 
questions  of  precedence,  which  had  so  often  annoyed  him, 
arising  from  the  difference  between  crown  and  provincial 
commissions.  Maryland  having  by  a  scanty  appropriation 
raised  a  small  militia  force,  stationed  Captain  Dagworthy,  with 
a  company  of  thirty  men,  at  Fort  Cumberland,  which  stood 
within  the  boundaries  of  that  province.  Dagworthy  had  served 
in  Canada  in  the  preceding  war^  and  had  received  a  king's 
commission.  This  he  had  since  commuted  for  half-pay,  and, 
of  course,  had  virtually  parted  with  its  privileges.  He  was 
nothing  more,  therefore,  than  a  Maryland  provincial  captain,  at 
the  head  of  thirty  men.  He  now,  however,  assumed  to  act 
Under  his  royal  commission,  and  refused  to  obey  the  orders  of 
any  officer,  however  high  his  rank,  who  merely  held  his  com- 
mission from  a  governor.  Nay,  when  Governor,  or  rather 
Colonel  Innes,  who  commanded  at  the  fort,  was  called  away  to 
North  Carolina  by  his  private  affairs,  the  captain  took  upon 
himself  the  command,  and  insisted  upon  it  as  his  right. 

Parties  instantly  arose,  and  quarrels  ensued  among  the  infe- 
rior officers  ;  grave  questions  were  agitated  between  the  gov- 
ernors of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  as  to  the  fort  itself ;  the  for- 
mer claimimg  it  as  within  his  province,  the  latter  insisting  that, 
as  it  had  been  built  according  to  orders  sent  by  the  king,  it 
was  the  king's  fort,  and  could  not  be  subject  to  the  authority 
of  Maryland. 

Washington  refrained  from  mingling  in  this  dispute ;  but 
intimated  that  if  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of  Vir- 
ginia must  yield  precedence  to  a  Maryland  captain  of  thirty 
men,  he  should  have  to  resign  his  commission,  as  he  had  been 
compelled  to  do  before,  by  a  question  of  military  rank. 

So  difficult  was  it,  however,  to  settle  these  disputes  of  pre- 
cedence, especially  where  the  claims  of  two  governors  came  in 
collision,  that  it  was  determined  to  refer  the  matter  to  Major- 
general  Shirley,  who  had  succeeded  Braddock  in  the  general 
command  of  the  colonies.  For  this  purpose  Washington  was 
to  go  to  Boston,  obtain  a  decision  from  Shirley  of  the  point  in 
dispute,  and  a  general  regulation  by  which  these  difficulties  could 
be  prevented  in  future.  It  was  thought,  also,  that  in  a  conference 
with  the  commander-in-chief  he  might  inform  himself  of  the 
military  measures  in  contemplation. 

Accordingly,  on  the  4th  of  February  (1756),  leaving  Colonel 
Adam  Stephen  in  command  of  the  troops,  Washington  set  out 
on   his    mission,    accompanied   by   his   aide-de-camp.    Captain 


138  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

George  Mercer  of  Virginia,  and  Captain  Stewart  of  the  Virginia 
light  horse ;  the  officer  who  had  taken  care  of  General  Braddock 
in  his  last  moments. 

In  those  days  the  conveniences  of  travelling,  even  between 
our  main  cities,  were  few,  and  the  roads  execrable.  The  party 
therefore,  travelled  in  Virginia  style,  on  horseback,  attended 
by  their  back  servants  in  livery.^  In  this  way  they  accom- 
plished a  journey  of  five  hundred  miles  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
stopping  for  some  days  at  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Those 
cities  were  then  comparatively  small,  and  the  arrival  of  a  party 
of  young  Southern  officers  ottracted  attention.  The  late  disas- 
trous battle  was  still  the  theme  of  every  tongue,  and  the  honor- 
able way  in  which  these  young  officers  had  acquitted  themselves 
in  it,  made  them  objects  of  universal  interest.  Washington's 
fame,  especially,  had  gone  before  him,  having  been  spread  by 
the  officers  who  had  served  with  him,  and  by  the  public  honors 
decreed  him  by  the  Virginia  Legislature.  "  Your  name,"  wrote 
his  former  fellow-campaigner.  Gist,  in  a  letter  dated  in  the 
preceding  autumn,  "  is  more  talked  of  in  Philadelphia  than  that 
of  any  other  person  in  the  army,  and  every  body  seems  willing 
to  venture  under  your  command." 

With  these  prepossessions  in  his  favor,  when  we  consider 
Washington's  noble  person  and  demeanor,  his  consummate 
horesmanship,  the  admirable  horses  he  was  accustomed  to  ride, 
and  the  aristocratical  style  of  his  equipments,  we  may  imagine 
the  effect  produced  by  himself  and  his  little  cavalcade,  as  they 
clattered  through  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  and  New  York, 
and  Boston.  It  is  needless  to  say,  their  sojourn  in  each  city 
was  a  continual  fete. 

*  We  have  hitherto  treated  of  Washington  in  his  campaigns  in  the 
wilderness,  frugal  and  scanty  in  his  equipments,  often,  very  probably, 
in  little  better  than  hunter's  garb.  His  present  excursion  through  some 
of  the  Atlantic  cities  presents  him  in  a  different  aspect.  His  recent  inter- 
course with  young  British  officers  had  probably  elevated  his  notions  as 
to  style  in  dress  and  appearance  ;  at  least  we  are  inclined  to  suspect  so 
from  the  following  aristocratical  order  for  clothes,  sent  shortly  before 
the  time  in  question,  to  his  correspondent  in  London. 

"2  complete  livery  suits  for  servants  ;  with  a  spare  cloak,  all  other 
necessary  trimmings  for  two  suits  more.  I  would  have  you  choose  the 
livery  by  our  arms,  only  as  the  field  of  the  arms  is  white,  I  think  the 
clothes  had  better  not  be  quite  so,  but  nearly  like  the  inclosed.  The 
trimmings  and  facings  of  scarlet,  and  a  scarlet  waistcoat.  If  livery  lace 
is  not  quite  disused,  I  should  be  glad  to  have  the  cloaks  laced.  I  like 
that  fashion  best,  and  two  silver-laced  hats  for  the  above  servants. 

"1  set  of  horse  furniture,  with  livery  lace,  with  the  Washington  crest 
on  the  housings,  &c.  The  cloak  to  be  of  the  same  piece  and  color  of  the 
clothes. 

*'3  gold  and  scarlet  sword-knots.  4  silver  and  blue  do.  1  fashionable 
gold-laced  hat." 


LIFE  OF  WASHtNQTOI^.  l39 

The  mission  to  General  Shirley  was  entirely  successful  as  to 
the  question  of  rank.  A  written  order  from  the  commander-in- 
chief  determined  that  Dagworthy  was  entitled  to  the  rank  of  a 
provincial  captain  only,  and  of  course,  must  on  all  occasions 
give  precedence  to  Colonel  Washington,  as  a  provincial  field- 
officer.  The  latter  was  disappointed,  however,  in  the  hope  of 
getting  himself  and  his  officers  put  upon  the  regular  establish- 
ment, with  commissions  from  the  king,  and  had  to  remain  sub- 
jected to  mortifying  questions  of  rank  and  etiquette,  when  serv- 
ing in  company  with  regular  troops. 

From  General  Shirley  he  learnt  that  the  main  objects  of  the 
ensuing  campaign  would  be  the  reduction  of  Fort  Niagara,  so 
as  to  cut  off  the  communication  between  Canada  and  Louisiana, 
the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  as  a  measure  of 
safety  for  New  York,  the  besieging  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  the 
menacing  of  Quebec  by  a  body  of  troops  which  were  to  advance 
by  the  Kennebec  River. 

The  official  career  of  General  Shirley  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
Though  a  man  of  good  parts,  he  had  always,  until  recently, 
acted  in  a  civil  capacity,  and  proved  incompetent  to  conduct 
military  operations.  He  was  recalled  to  England,  and  was  to 
be  superseded  by  General  Abercrombie,  who  was  coming  out 
with  two  regiments. 

The  general  command  in  America,  however,  was  to  be  held 
by  the  Earl  of  Loudoun,  who  was  invested  with  powers  almost 
equal  to  those  of  a  viceroy,  being  placed  above  all  the  colonial 
governors.  These  might  claim  to  be  civil  and  military  repre- 
sentatives of  their  sovereign  within  their  respective  colonies  ; 
but  even  there,  were  bound  to  defer  and  yield  precedence  to 
this  their  official  superior.  This  was  part  of  a  plan  devised 
long  ago,  but  now  first  brought  into  operation,  by  which  the 
ministry  hoped  to  unite  the  colonies  under  military  rule,  and 
oblige  the  assemblies,  magistrates,  and  people  to  furnish  quar- 
ters and  provide  a  general  fund  subject  to  the  control  of  this 
military  dictator. 

Beside  his  general  command,  the  Earl  of  Loudoun  was  to  be 
governor  of  Virginia  and  colonel  of  a  royal  American  regiment 
of  four  battalions,  to  be  raised  in  the  colonies,  but  furnished 
with  officers  who,  like  himself,  had  seen  foreign  service.  The 
campaign  would  open  on  his  arrival,  which,  it  was  expected, 
would  be  early  in  the  spring ;  and  brilliant  results  were  anti- 
cipated. 

Washington  remained  ten  days  in  Boston,  attending,  with 
great  interest,  the  meetings  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature, 
in  which  the  plan  of  military   operations  was  ably   discussed  ; 


146  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  receiving  the  most  hospitable  attentions  from  the  polite 
and  intelligent  society  of  the  place,  after  which  he  returned  to 
New  York. 

Tradition  gives  very  different  motives  from  those  of  business 
for  his  two  sojourns  in  the  latter  city.  He  found  there  an  early 
friend  and  schoolmate,  Beverly  Robinson,  son  of  John  Robin- 
son, Speaker  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses.  He  was 
living  happily  and  prosperously  with  a  young  and  wealthy 
bride,  having  married  one  of  the  nieces  and  heiresses  of  Mr. 
Adolphus  Philipse,  a  rich  land-holder,  whose  manor-house  is 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  At  the  house  of 
Mr.  Beverly  Robinson,  where  AVashington  was  an  honored 
guest,  he  met  Miss  Mary  Philipse,  sister  of  and  co-heiress  with 
Mrs.  Robinson,  a  young  lady  whose  personal  attractions  are 
said  to  have  rivaled  her  reputed  wealth. 

We  have  already  given  an  instance  of  Washington's  early 
sensibility  to  female  charms.  A  life,  however,  of  constant  ac- 
tivity and  care,  passed  for  the  most  part  in  the  wilderness  and 
on  the  frontier,  far  from  female  society,  had  left  little  mood  or 
leisure  for  the  indulgence  of  the  tender  sentiment ;  but  made 
him  more  sensible,  in  the  present  brief  interval  of  gay  and  so- 
cial life,  to  the  attractions  of  an  elegant  woman,  brought  up  in 
the  polite  circle  of  New  York. 

That  he  was  an  open  admirer  of  Miss  Philipse  is  an  histori- 
cal fact ;  that  he  sought  her  hand,  but  was  refused,  is  tradi- 
tional, and  not  very  probable.  His  military  rank,  his  early 
laurels,  and  distinguished  presence,  were  all  calculated  to  win 
favor  in  female  eyes  ;  but  his  sojourn  in  New  York  was  brief  ; 
he  may  have  been  diffident  in  urging  his  suit  with  a  lady  ac- 
customed to  the  homage  of  society  and  surrounded  by  ad- 
mirers. The  most  probable  version  of  the  story  is,  that  he  was 
called  away  by  his  public  duties  before  he  had  made  sufficient 
approaches  in  his  siege  of  the  lady's  heart  to  warrant  a  sum- 
mons to  surrender.  In  the  latter  part  of  March  we  find  him 
at  Williamsburg  attending  the  opening  of  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia,  eager  to  promote  measures  for  the  protection  of  the 
frontier  and  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne,  the  leading  object 
of  his  ambition.  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  were  erecting 
forts  for  the  defense  of  their  own  borders,  but  showed  no  dis- 
position to  cooperate  with  Virginia  in  the  field ;  and  artillery, 
artillerymen,  and  engineers  were  wanting  for  an  attack  on 
fortified  places.  Washington  urged,  therefore,  an  augmenta- 
tion of  the  provincial  forces,  and  various  improvements  in  the 
militia  laws. 

While  thus  engaged,  he  received  a  letter  from  a  friend  and 


LIFE  OF  WASBINGTON,  141 

confidant  in  New  York,  warning  liim  to  hasten  back  to  that 
city  before  it  was  too  late,  as  Captain  Morris,  who  had  been 
his  fellow  aide-de-camp  under  Braddock,  was  laying  close  siege 
to  Miss  Philipse.  Sterner  alarms,  however,  summoned  him  in 
another  direction.  Expresses  from  Winchester  brought  word 
that  the  French  had  made  another  sortie  from  Fort  Duquesne, 
accompanied  by  a  band  of  savages,  and  were  spreading  terror 
and  desolation  through  the  country.  In  this  moment  of  ex- 
igency all  softer  claims  were  forgotten  ;  Washington  repaired 
in  all  haste  to  his  post  at  Winchester,  and  Captain  Morris  was 
left  to  urge  his  suit  unrivaled  and  carry  off  the  prize. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

TROUBLES  IN  THE   SHENANDOAH    VALLEY. — GREENWAY    COURT 

AND  LORD  FAIRFAX  IN    DANGER. ALARMS  AT  WINCHESTER. 

WASHINGTON    APPEALED  TO  FOR  PROTECTION. ATTACKED 

BY  THE  VIRGINIA  PRESS. HONORED  BY  THE  PUBLIC. PRO- 
JECTS FOR  DEFENSE. SUGGESTIONS    OF    WASHINGTON. THE 

GENTLEMEN  ASSOCIATORS.— RETREAT  OF  THE  SAVAGES. EX- 
PEDITION AGAINST  KITTANNING.— CAPTAIN  HUGH  MERCER. 
SECOND  STRUGGLE  THROUGH  THE  WILDERNRSS. 

Keport  had  not  exaggerated  the  troubles  of  the  frontier.  It 
was  marauded  by  merciless  bands  of  savages,  led  in  some  in- 
stances by  Frenchmen.  Travellers  were  murdered,  farm-houses, 
burnt  down,  families  butchered,  and  even  stockaded  forts,  or 
houses  of  refuge,  attacked  in  open  day.  The  marauders  had 
crossed  the  mountains  and  penetrated  the  valley  of  the  Shen- 
andoah ;  and  several  persons  had  fallen  beneath  the  tomahawk 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Winchester. 

Washington's  old  friend.  Lord  Fairfax,  found  himself  no 
longer  safe  in  his  rural  abode.  Greenway  Court  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  woodland  region,  affording  a  covert  approach  for  the 
stealthy  savage.  His  lordship  was  considered  a  great  chief, 
whose  scalp  would  be  an  inestimable  trophy  for  an  Indian  war- 
rior. Fears  were  entertained,  therefore,  by  his  friends,  that 
an  attempt  would  be  made  to  surprise  him  in  his  greenwood 
castle.  His  nephew,  Colonel  Martin  of  the  militia,  who  resided 
with  him,  suggested  the  expediency  of  a  removal  to  the  lower 
settlements,  beyond  the  Blue  Eidge.     The  high-spirited  old 


142  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

nobleman  demurred  ;  his  heart  cleaved  to  the  home  which  he 
had  formed  for  himself  in  the  wilderness.  "  I  am  an  old  man/' 
said  he,  "  and  it  is  of  little  importance  whether  I  fall  by  the 
tomahawk  or  die  of  disease  and  old  age  ;  but  you  are  young, 
and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  have  many  years  before  you,  therefore 
decide  for  us  both  ;  my  only  fear  is,  that  if  we  retire,  the  whole 
district  will  break  up  and  take  to  flight ;  and  this  fine  countr}^, 
which  I  have  been  at  such  cost  and  trouble  to  improve,  will 
again  become  a  wilderness." 

Colonel  Martin  took  but  a  short  time  to  deliberate.  He 
knew  the  fearless  character  of  his  uncle,  and  perceived  what 
was  his  inclination.  He  considered  that  his  lordship  had  nu- 
merous retainers,  white  and  black,  with  hardy  huntsmen  and 
foresters  to  rally  round  him,  and  that  Greenway  Court  was  at 
no  great  distance  from  Winchester  ;  he  decided,  therefore,  that 
they  should  remain  and  abide  the  course  of  events. 

Washington,  on  his  arrival  at  Winchester,  found  the  inhabi- 
tants in  great  dismay.  He  resolved  immediately  to  organize  a 
force,  composed  partly  of  troops  from  Fort  Cumberland,  partly 
of  militia  from  Winchester  and  its  vicinity,  to  put  himself  at 
its  head,  and  "  scour  the  woods  and  suspected  places  in  all  the 
mountains  and  valleys  of  this  part  of  the  frontier,  in  quest  of 
the  Indians  and  th^ir  more  cruel  associates." 

He  accordingly  despatched  an  express  to  Fort  Cumberland 
with  orders  for  a  detachment  from  the  garrison  ;  "  but  how," 
said  he  "are  men  to  be  raised  at  Winchester,  since  orders  are 
no  longer  regarded  in  the  county  ?  " 

Lord  Fairfax,  and  other  militia  officers  with  whom  he  con- 
sulted, advised  that  each  captain  should  call  a  private  muster 
of  his  men,  and  read  before  them  an  address,  or  "  exhortation  " 
as  it  was- called,  being  an  appeal  to  their  patriotism  and  fears, 
and  a  summons  to  assemble  on  the  15th  of  April  to  enroll  them- 
selves for  the  projected  mountain  foray. 

This  measure  was  adopted  ;  the  private  musterings  occurred; 
the  exhortation  was  read ;  the  time  and  place  of  assemblage 
appointed  ;  but,  when  the  day  of  enrollment  arrived,  not  more 
than  fifteen  men  appeared  upon  the  ground.  In  the  meantime 
the  express  returned  with  sad  accounts  from  Fort  Cumberland. 
No  troops  could  be  furnished  from  that  quarter.  The  garrison 
was  scarcely  strong  enough  for  self-defense,  having  sent  out 
detachments  in  different  directions.  The  express  had  narrow- 
ly escaped  with  his  life,  having  been  fired  upon  repeatedly,  his 
horse  shot  under  him,  and  his  clothes  riddled  with  bullets. 
The  roads,  he  said,  were  infested  by  savages  ;  none  but  hunters, 
who  knew  how  to  thread  the  forests  at  night,  could  travel  with 
safety. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  143 

Horrors  accumulated  at  Winchester.  Every  hour  brought 
its  tale  of  terror,  true  or  false,  of  houses  burnt,  families  mas- 
sacred, or  beleaguered  and  famishing  in  stockaded  forts.  The 
danger  approached.  A  scouting  party  had  been  attacked  in  the 
Warm  Spring  Mountain,  about  twenty  miles  distant,  by  a  large 
body  of  French  and  Indians,  mostly  on  horseback.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  scouting  party  and  several  of  his  men  had  been 
slain,  and  the  rest  put  to  flight. 

An  attack  on  Winchester  was  apprehended,  and  the  terrors 
of  the  people  rose  to  agony.  They  now  turned  to  Washington 
as  their  main  hope.  The  women  surrounded  him,  holding  up 
their  children,  and  imploring  him  with  tears  and  cries  to  save 
them  from  the  savages.  The  youthful  commander  looked 
round  on  the  suppliant  crowd  with  a  countenance  beaming  with 
pity,  and  a  heart  wrung  with  anguish.  A  letter  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie  shows  the  conflict  of  his  feelings.  "  I  am  too  little 
acquainted  with  pathetic  language  to  attempt  a  description  of 
these  people's  distresses.  But  what  can  I  do  ?  I  see  their 
situation  :  I  know  their  danger,  and  participate  their  sufferings, 
without  having  it  in  my  power  to  give  them  further  relief  than 
uncertain  promises." — "  The  supplicating  tears  of  the  women, 
and  moving  petitions  of  the  men,  melt  me  into  such  deadly 
sorrow,  that  I  solemnly  declare,  if  know  my  own  mind,  I  could 
offer  myself  a  willing  sacrifice  to  the  butchering  enemy  pro- 
vided that  would  contribute  to  the  people's  ease." 

The  unstudied  eloquence  of  this  letter  drew  from  the  govern- 
or an  instant  order  for  a  militia  force  from  the  upper  counties 
to  his  assistance;  but  the  Virginia  newspapers,  in  descanting 
on  the  frontier  troubles,  threw  discredit  on  the  army  and  its 
officers,  and  attached  blame  to  its  commander.  Stung  to  the 
quick  by  this  injustice,  Washington  publicly  declared  that 
nothing  but  the  imminent  danger  of  the  times  prevented  him 
from  instantly  resigning  a  command  from  which  he  could  never 
reap  either  honor  or  benefit.  His  sensitiveness  called  forth 
strong  letters  from  his  friends,  assuring  him  of  the  high  sense 
entertained  at  the  seat  of  government,  and  elsewhere,  of  his 
merits  and  services.  "Your  good  health  and  fortune  are  the 
toast  of  every  table,"  wrote  his  early  friend.  Colonel  Fairfax,  at 
that  time  a  member  "of  the  governor's  council.  "Your  en- 
deavors in  the  service  and  defense  of  your  country  must  re- 
dound to  your  honor." 

"  Our  hopes,  dear  George,"  wrote  Mr.  Kobinson,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  "  are  all  fixed  on  you  for  bringing 
our  affairs  to  a  happy  issue.  Consider  what  fatal  consequences 
to  your  country  your  resigning  the  command  at  this  time  may 


144  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

he,  especially  as  there  is  no  doubt  most  of  the  officers  will  follow 
your  example." 

In  fact,  the  situation  and  services  of  the  youthful  commander, 
shut  up  in  a  frontier  town,  destitute  of  forces,  surrounded  by 
savage  foes,  gallantly,  though  despairingly,  devoting  himself 
to  the  safety  of  a  suffering  people,  were  properly  understood 
throughout  the  country,  and  excited  a  glow  of  enthusiasm  in 
his  favor.  The  Legislature,  too,  began  at  length  to  act,  but 
timidly  and  inefficiently.  "  The  country  knows  her  danger," 
writes  one  of  the  members,  "but  such  is  her  parsimony  that 
she  is  willing  to  wait  for  the  rains  to  wet  the  powder,  and  the 
rats  to  eat  the  bowstrings  of  the  enemy,  rather  than  attempt  to 
drive  them  from  her  frontiers." 

^  The  measure  of  relief  voted  by  the  Assembly  was  an  addi- 
tional appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  pounds,  and  an  increase 
of  the  provincial  force  to  fifteen  hundred  men.  With  this  it 
was  proposed  to  erect  and  garrison  a  chain  of  frontier  forts,  ex- 
tending through  the  ranges  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  from 
the  Potomac  to  the  borders  of  North  Carolina ;  a  distance  of 
between  three  and  four  hundred  miles.  This  was  one  of  the 
inconsiderate  projects  devised  by  Governor  Dinwiddle. 

Washington,  in  letters  to  the  governor  and  to  the  speaker  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses,  urged  the  impolicy  of  such  a  plan, 
with  their  actual  force  and  means.  The  forts,  he  observed, 
ought  to  be  within  fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  of  each  other,  that 
their  spies  might  be  able  to  keep  watch  over  the  intervening 
country,  otherwise  the  Indians  would  pass  between  them  un- 
perceived,  effect  their  ravages,  and  escape  to  the  mountains, 
swamps,  and  ravines,  before  the  troops  from  the  forts  could  be 
assembled  to  pursue  them.  They  ought  each  to  be  garrisoned 
with  eighty  or  a  hundred  men,  so  as  to  afford  detachments  of 
sufficient  strength,  without  leaving  the  garrison  too  weak  ;  for 
the  Indians  are  the  most  stealthy  and  patient  of  spies  and 
lurkers  ;  will  lie  in  wait  for  days  together  about  small  forts  of 
the  kind,  and,  if  they  find,  by  some  chance  prisoner,  that  the 
garrison  is  actually  weak,  will  first  surprise  and  cut  off  its 
scouting  parties,  and  then  attack  the  fort  itself.  It  was  evi- 
dent, therefore,  observed  he,  that  to  garrison  properly  such  a 
line  of  forts,  would  require,  at  least,  two  thousand  men.  And 
even  then,  a  line  of  such  extent  might  be  broken  through  at 
one  end  before  the  other  end  could  yield  assistance.  Feint 
attacks,  also,  might  be  made  at  one  point,  while  the  real  attack 
was  make  at  another,  quite  distant ;  and  the  country  be  over- 
run before  its  widely-posted  defenders  could  be  alarmed  and 
concentrated,    Then  mu^t  be  taken  into  consideration  the.im- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  145 

mense  cost  of  building  so  many  forts,  and  the  constant  and  con- 
suming expense  of  supplies  and  transportation. 

His  idea  of  a  defensive  plan  was  to  build  a  strong  fort  at 
Winchester,  the  central  point,  where  all  the  main  roads  met, 
of  a  wide  range  of  scattered  settlements,  where  tidings  could 
soonest  be  collected  from  every  quarter,  and  whence  reinforce- 
ments and  supplies  could  most  readily  be  forwarded.  It  was 
to  be  a  grand  deposit  of  military  stores,  a  residence  for  com- 
manding officers,  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  women  and  children 
in  time  of  alarm,  when  the  men  had  suddenly  to  take  the  field ; 
in  a  word,  it  was  to  be  the  citadel  of  the  frontier. 

Beside  this,  he  would  have  three  or  four  large  fortresses 
erected  at  convenient  distances  upon  the  frontiers,  with  power- 
ful garrisons,  so  as  to  be  able  to  throw  out,  in  constant  succes- 
sion, strong  scouting  parties,  to  range  the  country.  Fort  Cum- 
berland he  condemned  as  being  out  of  the  province,  and  out  of 
the  track  of  Indian  incursions  ;  insomuch  that  it  seldom  received 
an  alarm  until  all  the  mischief  had  been  effected. 

His  representations  with  respect  to  military  laws  and  regula- 
tions were  equally  cogent.  In  the  late  act  of  the  Assembly  for 
raising  a  regiment,  it  was  provided  that,  in  cases  of  emergency, 
if  recruits  should  not  offer  in  sufficient  number,  the  militia 
might  be  drafted  to  supply  the  deficiencies,  but  only  to  serve 
until  December,  and  not  to  be  marched  out  of  the  province.  In 
this  case,  said  he,  before  they  have  entered  upon  service,  or  got 
the  least  smattering  of  duty,  they  will  claim  a  discharge ;  if  they 
are  pursuing  an  enemy  who  has  committed  the  most  unheard- 
of  cruelties,  he  has  only  to  step  across  the  Potomac,  and  he  is 
safe.  Then  as  to '  the  limits  of  service,  they  might  just  as 
easily  have  been  enlisted  for  sef-enteen  months  as  seven.  They 
would  then  have  been  seasoned  as  well  as  disciplined  ;  "  for  we 
find  by  experience,''  says  he,  "that  our  poor  ragged  soldiers 
would  kill  the  most  active  militia  in  five  days'  marching." 

Then  as  to  punishments  :  death  it  was  true,  had  been  decreed 
for  mutiny  and  desertion ;  but  there  was  no  punishment  for 
cowardice  ;  for  holding  correspondence  with  the  enemy  ;  for 
quitting  or  sleeping  on  one's  post — all  capital  offenses,  accord- 
ing to  the  military  codes  of  Europe.  Neither  were  there  pro- 
visions for  quartering  or  billeting  soldiers,  or  impressing  wagons 
and  other  conveyances,  in  times  of  exigency.  To  crown  all,  no 
court-martial  could  sit  out  of  Virginia ;  a  most  embarrassing 
regulation,  when  troops  were  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  beyond 
the  frontier.  He  earnestly  suggested  amendments  on  all  these 
points,  as  well  as  with  regard  to  the  soldiers'  pay  ;  which  was 
less  than  that  of  the  regular  troops,  or  the  troops  of  most  of  the 
other  provinces. 


146  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

All  these  suggestions,  showing  at  this  youthful  age  that  fore- 
thought and  circumspection  which  distinguished  him  through- 
out life,  were  repeatedly  and  eloquently  urged  upon  Governor 
Dinwiddle,  with  very  little  effect.  The  plan  of  a  frontier 
line  of  twenty-three  forts  was  persisted  in.  Fort  Cumberland 
was  pertinaciously  kept  up  at  a  great  and  useless  expense  of 
men  and  money,  and  the  militia  laws  remained  lax  and  in- 
efficient. It  was  decreed,  however,  that  the  great  central  fort 
at  Winchester  recommended  by  Washington,  should  be  erected. 

In  the  height  of  the  alarm,  a  company  of  one  hundred  gentle- 
men, mounted  and  equipped,  volunteered  their  services  to 
repair  to  the  frontier.  They  were  headed  by  Peyton  Randolph, 
attorney-general,  a  man  deservedly  popular  throughout  the 
province.  Their  offer  was  gladly  accepted.  They  were  de- 
nominated the  "Gentlemen  Associators,"  and  great  expecta- 
tions, of  course,  were  entertained  from  their  gallantry  and  de- 
votion. They  were  empowered,  also,  to  aid  with  their  judg- 
ment in  the  selection  of  places  for  frontier  forts. 

The  "  Gentlemen  Associators,"  like  all  gentlemen  associators 
in  similar  emergencies,  turned  out  with  great  zeal  and  spirit, 
and  immense  popular  effect,  but  wasted  their  fire  in  preparation, 
and  on  the  march.  Washington,  who  well  understood  the 
value  of  such  aid,  observed  dryly  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Din- 
widdle, "  I  am  heartily  glad  that  you  have  fixed  upon  these 
gentlemen  to  point  out  the  places  for  erecting  forts,  but  regret 
to  find  their  motions  so  slow."  There  is  no  doubt  that  they 
would  have  conducted  themselves  gallantly,  had  they  been  put 
to  the  test ;  but  before  they  arrived  near  the  scene  of  danger 
the  alarm  was  over.  About  the  beginning  of  May,  scouts 
brought  in  word  that  the  tracks  of  the  marauding  savages 
tended  toward  Fort  Duquesne,  as  if  on  the  return.  In  a  little 
while  it  was  ascertained  that  they  had  recrossed  the  Alleghany 
Mountains  to  the  Ohio  in  such  numbers  as  to  leave  a  beaten 
track,  equal  to  that  made  in  the  preceding  year  by  the  army  of 
Braddock. 

The  repeated  inroads  of  the  savages  called  for  an  effectual 
and  permanent  check.  The  idea  of  being  constantly  subject  to 
the  irruptions  of  a  deadly  foe,  that  moved  with  stealth  and 
mystery,  and  was  only  to  be  traced  by  its  ravages,  and  counted 
by  its  footprints,  discouraged  all  settlement  of  the  country. 
The  beautiful  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  fast  becoming  a 
deserted  and  a  silent  place.  Her  people,  for  the  most  part,  had 
fled  to  the  older  settlements  south  of  the  mountains,  and  the 
Blue  Ridge  was  likely  soon  to  become  virtually  the  frontier  line 
of  the  province. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  147 

We  have  to  record  one  signal  act  of  retaliation  on  the  per- 
fidious tribes  of  the  Ohio,  in  which  a  person  whose  name  subse- 
quently became  dear  to  Americans,  was  concerned.  Prisoners 
who  had  escaped  from  the  savages  reported  that  Shingis,  Wash- 
ington's faithless  ally,  and  another  sachem,  called  Captain 
Jacobs,  were  the  two  heads  of  the  hostile  bands  that  had  deso- 
lated the  frontier.  That  they  lived  at  Kittanning,  an  Indian 
town,  about  forty  miles  above  Fort  Duquesne ;  at  which  their 
warriors  were  fitted  out  for  incursions,  and  whither  they  returned 
with  their  prisoners  and  plunder.  Captain  Jacobs  was  a  dar- 
ing fellow,  and  scoffed  at  palisaded  forts.  "He  could  take 
any  fort,"  he  said,  "  that  would  catch  fire." 

A  party  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  provincials,  resolute 
men,  undertook  to  surprise  and  destroy  this  savage  nest.  It 
was  commanded  by  Colonel  John  Armstrong ;  and  with  him 
went  Dr.  Hugh  Mercer,  of  subsequent  renown,  who  had  re- 
ceived a  captain's  commission  from  Pennslyvania,  on  the  6th 
of  March,  1756. 

Armstrong  led  his  men  rapidly,  but  secretly,  over  mountain 
and  through  forest,  until,  after  a  long  and  perilous  march, 
they  reached  the  Alleghany.  It  was  a  moonlight  night  when 
they  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kittanning.  They  were 
guided  to  the  village  by  whoops  and  yells,  and  the  sound  of  the 
Indian  drum.  The  warriors  were  celebrating  their  exploits  by 
the  triumphant  scalp-dance.  After  a  while  the  revel  ceased, 
and  a  number  of  fires  appeared  here  and  there  in  a  corn-field. 
They  were  made  by  such  of  the  Indians  as  slept  in  the  open 
air,  and  were  intended  to  drive  off  the  gnats.  Armstrong  and 
his  men  lay  down  "  quiet  and  hush,"  observing  everything  nar- 
rowly, and  waiting  until  the  moon  should  set,  and  the  warriors 
be  asleep.  At  length  the  moon  went  down,  the  fires  burned 
low ;  all  was  quiet.  Armstrong  now  roused  his  men,  some  of 
whom,  wearied  by  their  long  march,  had  fallen  asleep.  He 
divided  his  forces  ;  part  were  to  attack  the  warriors  in  the  corn- 
field, part  were  despatched  to  the  houses,  which  were  dimly 
seen  by  the  first  streak  of  day.  There  was  sharp  firing  in  both 
quarters,  for  the  Indians,  though  taken  by  surprise,  fought 
bravely,  inspired  by  the  war-whoop  of  their  chief.  Captain 
Jacobs.  The  women  and  children  fled  to  the  woods.  Several 
of  the  provincials  were  killed  and  wounded.  Captain  Hugh 
Mercer  received  a  wound  in  the  arm,  and  was  taken  to  the  top 
of  a  hill.  The  fierce  chieftain.  Captain  Jacobs,  was  besieged  in 
his  house,  which  had  port-holes ;  whence  he  and  his  warriors 
made  havoc  among  the  assailants.  The  adjoining  houses  were 
set  on  fire.     The   chief  was   summoned  to  surrender  himself. 


148  LIFE  OF  WASHIKGTOir. 

He  replied  he  was  a  man,  and  would  not  be  a  prisoner.  He 
was  told  he  would  be  burnt.  His  reply  was,  "  he  would  kill 
four  or  five  before  he  died."  The  flames  and  smoke  approached. 
"  One  of  the  besieged  warriors,  to  show  his  manhood,  began  to 
sing.  A  squaw  at  the  same  time  was  heard  to  cry,  but  was 
severely  rebuked  by  the  men."  * 

In  the  end,  the  warriors  were  driven  out  by  the  flames  ;  some 
were  shot.  Among  the  latter  was  Captain  Jacobs,  and  his 
gigantic  son,  said  to  be  seven  feet  high.  Fire  was  now  set  to 
all  the  houses,  thirty  in  number.  "  During  the  burning  of  the 
houses,'^  says  Colonel  Armstrong,  "we  were  agreeably  enter- 
tained with  a  quick  succession  of  charged  guns,  gradually  firing 
off  as  reached  by  the  fire,  but  much  more  so  with  the  vast  ex- 
plosion of  sundry  bags,  and  large  kegs  of  powder,  wherewith 
almost  every  house  abounded."  The  colonel  was  in  a  strange 
condition  to  enjoy  such  an  entertainment,  having  received  a 
wound  from  a  large  musket-ball  in  the  shoulder. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  was  accomplished.  Thirty  or 
forty  of  the  warriors  were  slain  ;  their  stronghold  was  a  smok- 
ing ruin.  There  was  danger  of  the  victors  being  cut  off  by  a 
detachment  from  Fort  Duquesne.  They  made  the  best  of  their 
way,  therefore,  to  their  horses,  which  had  been  left  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  set  off  rapidly  on  their  march  to  Fort  Lyttleton, 
about  sixty  miles  north  of  Fort  Cumberland. 

Colonel  Armstrong  had  reached  Fort  Lyttleton  on  the  14th 
of  September,  six  days  after  the  battle,  and  fears  were  enter- 
tained that  he  had  been  intercepted  by  the  Indians  and  was 
lost.  He,  with  his  ensign  and  eleven  men,  had  separated  from 
the  main  body  when  they  began  their  march  and  had  taken 
another  and  what  was  supposed  a  safer  road.  He  had  with 
him  a  woman,  a  boy,  and  two  little  girls,  recaptured  from  the 
Indians.  The  whole  party  ultimately  arrived  safe  at  Fort 
Lyttleton,  but  it  would  seem  that  Mercer,  weak  and  faint  from 
his  fractured  arm,  must  have  fallen  behind,  or  in  some  way  be- 
come separated  from  them,  and  had  a  long,  solitary,  and  pain- 
ful struggle  through  the  wilderness,  reaching  the  fort  sick, 
weary,  and  half  famished. f  We  shall  have  to  speak  hereafter 
of  his  services  when  under  the  standard  of  Washington,  whose 
friend  and  neighbor  he  subsequently  became.  $ 

*  Letter  from  Col.  Armstrong. 

t  ''  We  hear  that  Captain  Mercer  was  fourteen  days  in  getting  to  Fort 
Lyttleton.  He  had  a  miraculous  escape,  living  ten  days  on  two  dried 
clams  and  a  rattlesnake,  with  the  assistance  of  a  few  berries."  New 
York  Mercury  for  October  4,  1756. 

t  Mercer  was  a  Scotchman,  about  thirty-four  years  of  age.  About  ten 
years  previously  he  had  sarved  as  assistant-surgeon  inthe  forces  of  Charles 
Edward,  and  followed  his  standard  to  the  disastrous  field  of  CuUoden. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  149 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


SPECTION. INEFFICIENCY    OF    THE    MILITIA    SYSTEM. GEN- 
TLEMEN    SOLDIERS. CROSS-PUKPOSES     WITH    DINWIDDIE. 

MILITARY    AFFAIRS  IN    THE  NORTH. DELAYS    OF  LORD  LOU- 
DOUN.  ACTIVITY     OF     MONTCALM. LOUDOUN     IN      WINTER 

QUARTERS. 

Throughout  the  summer  of  1756,  Wasliington  exerted  him- 
self diligently  in  carrying  out  measures  determined  upon  for 
frontier  security.  The  great  fortress  at  Winchester  was  com- 
menced, and  the  work  urged  forward  as  expeditiously  as  the 
delays  and  perplexities  incident  to  a  badly  organized  service 
would  permit.  It  received  the  name  of  Fort  Loudoun,  in  honor 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  whose  arrival  in  Virginia  was  hope- 
fully anticipated. 

As  to  the  sites  of  the  frontier  posts,  they  were  decided  upon 
hy  Washington  and  his  officers,  after  frequent  and  long  consul- 
tations ;  parties  were  sent  out  to  work  on  them,  and  men  re- 
cruited, and  militia  drafted  to  garrison  them.  Washington 
visited  occasionally  such  as  were  in  progress,  and  near  at  hand. 
It  was  a  service  of  some  peril,  for  the  mountains  and  forests 
were  still  infested  by  prowling  savages,  especially  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  these  new  forts.  At  one  time  when  he  was  recon- 
noitering  a  wild  part  of  the  country,  attended  merely  by  a  ser- 
vant and  a  guide,  two  men  were  murdered  by  the  Indians  in  a 
solitary  defile  shortly  after  he  had  passed  through  it. 

In  the  autumn,  he  made  a  tour  of  inspection  along  the  whole 
line,  accompanied  by  his  friend,  Captain  Hugh  Mercer,  who 
had  recovered  from  his  recent  wounds.  This  tour  furnished 
repeated  proofs  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  militia  system.  In 
one  place  he  attempted  to  raise  a  force  with  which  to  scour  a 
region  infested  by  roving  bands  of  savages.  After  waiting 
several  days,  but  five  men  answered  to  his  summons.  In 
another  place,  where  three  companies  had   been  ordered  to  the 

After  the  defeat  of  the  "  Chevalier,"  he  had  escaped  by  the  way  of  In- 
verness to  America,  and  taken  up  his  residence  on  the  frontier  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 


150  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOl^. 

relief  of  a  fort,  attacked  by  the  Indians,  all  that  could  be  mus- 
tered were  a  captain,  a  lieutenant,  and  seven  or  eight  men. 

When  the  militia  were  drafted,  and  appeared  under  arms, 
the  case  was  not  much  better.  It  was  now  late  in  the  autumn ; 
their  term  of  service,  by  the  act  of  the  legislature,  expired  in 
December — half  of  the  time,  therefore,  was  lost  in  marching 
out  and  home.  Their  waste  of  provisions  was  enormous.  To 
be  put  on  allowance,  like  other  soldiers,  they  considered  an  in- 
dignity. They  would  sooner  starve  than  carry  a  few  days' 
provisions  on  their  backs.  On  the  march,  when  breakfast  was 
wanted,  they  would  knock  down  the  first  beeves  they  met  with 
and,  after  regaling  themselves,  march  on  till  dinner,  when  they 
would  take  the  same  method  ;  and  so  for  supper,  to  the  great 
oppression  of  the  people.  For  the  want  of  proper  military 
laws,  they  were  obstinate,  self-willed,  and  perverse.  Every  in- 
dividual had  his  own  crude  notion  of  things,  and  would  under- 
take to  direct.  If  his  advice  were  neglected,  he  would  think 
himself  slighted,  abused,  and  injured,  and,  to  redress  himself, 
would  depart  for  his  home. 

The  garrisons  were  weak  for  want  of  men,  but  more  so  from 
indolence  and  irregularity.  Not  one  was  in  a  posture  of  de- 
fense ;  few  but  might  be  surprised  with  the  greatest  ease.  At 
one  fort,  the  Indians  rushed  from  their  lurking-place,  pounced 
upon  several  children  playing  under  the  walls,  and  bore  them 
off  before  they  were  discovered.  Another  fort  was  surprised, 
and  many  of  the  people  massacred  in  the  same  manner.  In 
the  course  of  his  tour,  as  he  and  his  party  approached  a  fort, 
he  heard  a  quick  firing  for  several  minutes  ;  concluding  that 
it  was  attacked,  they  hastened  to  its  relief,  but  found  the  gar- 
rison were  merely  amusing  themselves  firing  at  a  mark  or  for 
wagers.  In  this  way  they  would  waste  their  ammunition  as 
freely  as  they  did  their  provisions.  In  the  meantime,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  country  were  in  a  wretched  situation,  feeling 
the  little  dependence  to  be  put  on  militia,  who  were  slow  in 
coming  to  their  assistance,  indifferent  about  their  preservation, 
unwilling  to  continue,  and  regardless  of  everything  but  of  their 
own  ease.  In  short,  they  were  so  apprehensive  of  approaching 
"'ruin,  that  the  whole  back  country  was  in  a  general  motion  to- 
wards the  southern  colonies. 

From  the  Catawba,  he  was  escorted  along  a  range  of  forts  by 
a  colonel,  and  about  thirty  men,  chiefly  officers.  "  With  this 
small  company  of  irregulars,^'  says  he,  "  with  whom  order,  reg- 
ularity, circumspection,  and  vigilance  were  matters  of  derision 
and  contempt,  we  set  out,  and,  by  the  protection  of  Providence, 
reached  Augusta  Court-house  in  seven  days,  without  meeting 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  151 

the  enemy  ;  otherwise,  we  must  have  fallen  a  sacrifice,  through 
the  indiscretion  of  these  whooping,  hallooing,  gentlemen  sol- 
diers ! " 

How  lively  a  picture  does  this  give  of  the  militia  system  at 
all  times,  when  not  subjected  to  strict  military  law. 

What  rendered  this  year's  service  peculiarly  irksome  and 
embarrassing  to  Washington,  was  the  nature  of  his  correspond- 
ence with  Grovernor  Dinwiddie.  That  gentleman,  either  from 
the  natural  hurry  and  confusion  of  his  mind,  or  from  a  real  dis- 
position to  perplex,  was  extremely  ambiguous  and  unsatisfac- 
tory in  most  of  his  orders  and  replies.  "  So  much  am  I  kept 
in  the  dark,''  says  Washington,  in  one  .of  his  letters,  "  that  I 
do  not  know  whether  to  prepare  for  the  offensive  or  defensive. 
What  would  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  one  would  be  quite 
useless  for  the  other."  And  again  :  ^'The  orders  I  receive  are 
full  of  ambiguity.  I  am  left  like  a  wanderer  in  the  wilderness, 
to  proceed  at  hazard.  I  am  answerable  for  consequences,  and 
blamed,  without  the  privilege  of  defense." 

In  nothing  was  this  disposition  to  perplex  more  apparent 
than  in  the  governor's  replies  respecting  Port  Cumberland. 
Washington  had  repeatedly  urged  the  abandonment  of  this 
fort  as  a  place  of  frontier  deposit,  being  within  the  bounds  of 
another  province,  and  out  of  the  track  of  Indian  incursion ;  so 
that  often  the  alarm  would  not  reach  there  until  after  the  mis- 
chief had  been  effected.  He  applied,  at  length,  for  particular 
and  positive  directions  from  the  governor  on  this  head.  "  The 
following,"  says  he,  "  is  an  exact  copy  of  his  answer :  ^  Fort 
Cumberland  is  a  king^s  fort,  and  built  chiefly  at  the  charge  of 
the  colony,  therefore  properly  under  our  direction  until  a  new 
governor  is  appointed.'  Now,  whether  I  am  to  understand  this 
aye  or  no  to  the  plain  simple  question  asked,  Is  the  fort  to  be 
continued  or  not  ?  I  know  not.  But  in  all  important  matters 
I  am  directed  in  this  ambiguous  and  uncertain  way." 

Governor  -Dinwiddie  subsequently  made  himself  explicit  on 
this  point.  Taking  offense  at  some  of  Washington's  comments 
on  the  military  affairs  of  the  frontier,  he  made  the  stand  of  a 
self-willed,  and  obstinate  man,  in  the  case  of  Fort  Cumberland ; 
and  represented  it  in  such  light  to  Lord  Loudoun,  as  to  draw 
from  his  lordship  an  order  that  it  should  be  kept  up  :  and  an 
implied  censure  of  the  conduct  of  Washington  in  slighting  a 
post  of  such  paramount  importance.  "I  cannot  agree  with 
Colonel  Washington,"  writes  his  lordship,  "  in  not  drawing  in 
the  posts  from  the  stockade  forts,  in  order  to  defend  that  ad- 
vanced one ;  and  I  should  imagine  much  more  of  the  frontier 
will  be  exposed  by  retiring  your   advanced  posts   near  Win- 


152  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Chester,  where  I  understand  he  is  retired;  for, from  your  letter 
I  take  it  for  granted  he  has  before  this  executed  his  plan,  with 
out  waiting  for  any  advice.  If  he  leaves  any  of  the  great  quan- 
tity of  stores  behind,  it  will  be  very  unfortunate,  and  he  ought 
to  consider  that  it  must  lie  at  his  own  door." 

The  powerfully  supported  Dinwiddle  went  so  far  as  to  order 
that  the  garrisons  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  stockades  and 
small  frontier  forts,  and  most  of  the  troops  from  Winchester,  to 
strengthen  Fort  Cumberland,  which  was  now  to  become  head- 
quarters ;  thus  weakening  the  most  important  points  and  places, 
to  concentrate  a  force  where  it  was  not  wanted,  and  would  be 
out  of  the  way  in  most  cases  of  alarm.  By  these  meddlesome 
moves,  made  by  Governor  Dinwiddle  from  a  distance,  without 
knowing  anything  of  the  game,  all  previous  arrangements  were 
reversed,  everything  was  thrown  into  confusion,  and  enormous 
losses  and  expenses  were  incurred. 

"Whence  it  arises,  or  why,  I  am  truly  ignorant,"  writes 
Washington  to  Mr.  Speaker  E-obinson,  "  but  my  strongest  rep- 
resentations of  matters  relative  to  the  frontiers  are  disregarded 
as  idle  and  frivolous  ;  my  propositions  and  measures  as  partial 
and  selfish  ;  and  all  my  sincerest  endeavors  for  the  service  of 
my  country  are  perverted  to  the  worst  purposes.  My  orders 
are  dark  and  uncertain ;  to-day  approved,  to-morrow  disap- 
proved." 

Whence  all  this  contradiction  and  embarrassment  arose  has 
since  been  explained,  and  with  apparent  reason.  Governor 
Dinwiddle  had  never  recovered  from  the  pique  caused  by  the 
popular  elevation  of  Washington  to  the  command  in  preference 
to  his  favorite,  Colonel  Innes.  His  irritation  was  kept  alive  by 
a  little  Scottish  faction,  who  were  desirous  of  disgusting  Wash- 
ington with  the  service,  so  as  to  induce  him  to  resign,  and  make 
way  for  his  rival.  They  might  have  carried  their  point  during 
the  panic  at  Winchester,  had  not  his  patriotism  and  his  sympa- 
thy with  the  public  distress  been  more  powerful  than  his  self- 
love.  He  determined,  he  said,  to  bear  up  under  these  embar- 
rassments in  the  hope  of  better  regulations  when  Lord  Loudoun 
should  arrive ;  to  whom  he  looked  for  the  future  fate  of  Vir- 
ginia. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  on  the  Virginia  frontier, 
military  affairs  went  on  tardily  and  heavily  at  the  north.  The 
campaign  against  Canada,  which  was  to  have  opened  early  in 
the  year,  hung  fire.  The  armament  coming  out  for  the  purpose 
under  Lord  Loudoun,  was  delayed  through  the  w^ant  of  energy 
and  union  in  the  British  cabinet.  General  Abercrombie,  who 
was  to  be  next  in  command  to  his  lordship,  and  to  succeed  to 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  .  153 

General  Sliirle}^,  set  sail  in  advance  for  New  York  with  two 
regiments,  but  did  not  reach  Albany,  the  head-quarters  of  mili- 
tary oj^eration,  until  the  25th  of  June.  He  billeted  his  soldiers 
upon  the  town,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
talked  of  ditching  and  stockading  it,  but  postponed  all  exterior 
enter^irises  until  the  arrival  of  Lord  Loudoun  ;  then  the  cam- 
paign was  to  open  in  earnest. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  came  word  that  the  forts  Ontario  and 
Oswego,  on  each  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego  River,  were 
menaced  by  the  French.  They  had  been  imperfectly  construc- 
ted by  Shirley,  and  were  insufficiently  garrisoned,  yet  contained 
a  great  amount  of  military  and  naval  stores,  and  protected  the 
vessels  which  cruised  on  Lake  Ontario. 

Major-general  Webb  was  ordered  by  Abercrombie  to  hold 
himself  in  readiness  to  march  with  one  regiment  to  the  relief 
of  these  forts,  but  received  no  further  orders.  Everything 
awaited  the  arrival  at  Albany  of  Lord  Loudoun,  which  at  length 
took  place,  on  the  29th  of  July.  There  were  now  at  least  ten 
thousand  troops,  regulars  and  provincials,  loitering  in  an  idle 
camp  at  Albany,  yet  relief  to  Oswego  was  still  delayed.  Lord 
Loudoun  was  in  favor  of  it,  but  the  governments  of  ISTew  York 
and  New  England  urged  the  immediate  reduction  of  Crown 
Point,  as  necessary  for  the  security  of  their  frontier.  After 
much  debate,  it  was  agreed  that  General  Webb  should  march 
to  the  relief  of  Oswego.  He  left  Albany  on  the  12th  of  August, 
but  had  scarce  reached  the  carrying-place,  between  the  Mohawk 
Eiver  and  Wood  Creek,  when  he  received  news  that  Oswego 
was  reduced,  and  its  garrison  captured.  While  the  British 
commanders  had  debated,  Field-marshal  the  Marquis  de  Mont- 
calm, newly  arrived  from  France,  had  acted.  He  was  a  dif- 
ferent kind  of  soldier  from  Abercrombie  or  Loudoun.  A  capa- 
cious mind  and  enterprising  spirit  animated  a  small,  but  active 
and  untiring  frame.  Quick  in  thought,  quick  in  speech, 
quicker  still  in  action,  he  comprehended  everything  at  a  glance, 
and  moved  from  point  to  point  of  the  province  with  a  celerity  and 
secrecy  that  completely  baffled  his  slow  and  pondering  antagon- 
ists. Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga  were  visited,  and  steps 
taken  to  strengthen  their  works,  and  provide  for  their  security ; 
then  hastening  to  Montreal,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
force  of  regulars,  Canadians,  and  Indians ;  ascended  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  Lake  Ontario  ;  blocked  up  the  mouth  of  the  Os- 
wego by  his  vessels,  landed  his  guns,  and  besieged  the  two 
forts  ;  drove  the  garrison  out  of  one  into  the  other  ;  killed  the 
commander,  Colonel  Mercer,  and  compelled  the  garrisons  to 
surrender,  prisoners  of  war.     With  the  forts  was  taken  an  im- 


154  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

mense  amount  of  military  stores,  ammunition,  -and  provisions  *, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-one  cannon,  fourteen  mortars,  six  ves- 
sels of  war,  a  vast  number  of  bateaux,  and  three  chests  of  money. 
His  blow  achieved,  MontcaliA  returned  in  triumph  to  Montreal, 
and  sent  the  colors  of  the  captured  forts  to  be  hung  up  as  tro- 
phies in  the  Canadian  churches. 

The  season  was  now  too  far  advanced  for  Lord  Loudoun  to 
enter  upon  any  great  military  enterprise  ;  he  postponed,  there- 
fore, the  great  northern  campaign,  so  much  talked  of  and  de- 
bated, until  the  following  year  ;  and  having  taken  measures  for 
the  protection  of  his  frontiers,  and  for  more  active  operations  in 
the  spring,  returned  to  New  York,  hung  up  his  sword,  and 
went  into  comfortable  winter  quarters. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

WASHINGTON     VINDICATES     HIS    CONDUCT   TO     LORD    LOUDOUN. 

HIS    RECEPTION    BY    HIS     LORDSHIP. MILITARY     PLANS. 

LORD  LOUDOUN  AT  HALIFAX. MONTCALM  ON  LAKE    GEORGE. 

HIS    TRIUMPHS. LORD    LOUDOUN's    FAILURES. WASHING- 
TON    AT     WINCHESTER. CONTINUED       MISUNDERSTANDINGS 

WITH   DINWIDDIE. RETURN    TO    MOUNT    VERNON. 

Circumstances  had  led  Washington  to  think  that  Lord 
Loudoun  "  had  received  impressions  to  his  prejudice  by  false 
representations  of  facts,"  and  that  a  wrong  idea  prevailed  at 
head-quarters  respecting  the  state  of  military  affairs  in  Virginia. 
He  was  anxious,  therefore,  for  an  opportunity  of  placing  all 
these  matters  in  a  proper  light ;  and  understanding  that  there 
was  to  be  a  meeting  in  Philadelphia  in  the  month  of  March, 
between  Lord  Loudoun  and  the  southern  governors,  to  consult 
about  measures  of  defense  for  their  respective  provinces,  he 
wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie  for  permission  to  attend  it. 

'^  I  cannot  conceive,"  writes  Dinwiddie  in  reply,  "  what  ser- 
vice you  can  be  of  in  going  there,  as  the  plan  concerted  will,  in 
course,  be  communicated  to  you  and  the  other  officers.  How- 
ever, as  you  seem  so  earnest  to  go,  I  now  give  you  leave.'' 

This  ungracious  reply  seemed  to  warrant  the  suspicions  en- 
tertained by  some  of  Washington's  friends,  that  it  was  the  busy 
pen  of  Grovernor  Dinwiddie  which  had  given  the  "  false  repre- 
sentation of  facts  "  to  Lord  Loudoun.  About  a  month,  there- 
fore, before  the  time  of  the  meeting,  Washington  addressed  a 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  155 

long  letter  to  his  lordship,  exj^lanatory  of  military  affairs  in  the 
quarter  where  he  had  commanded.  In  this  he  set  forth  the 
various  defects  in  the  militia  laws  of  Virginia ;  the  errors  in 
its  system  of  defense,  and  the  inevitable  confusion  which  had 
thence  resulted. 

Adverting  to  his  own  conduct :  "  The  orders  I  receive,"  said 
he,  "  are  full  of  ambiguity.  I  am  left  like  a  wanderer  in  the 
wilderness  to  proceed  at  hazard.  I  am  answerable  for  conse- 
quences, and  blamed,  without  the  privilege  of  defense.  .  .  . 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if,  under  such  peculiar  circumstances, 
I  should  be  sick  of  a  service  which  promises  so  little  of  a 
soldier's  reward. 

"  I  have  long  been  satisfied  of  the  impossibility  of  continu- 
ing in  this  service  without  loss  of  honor.  Indeed,  I  was  fully 
convinced  of  it  before  I  accepted  the  command  the  second  time, 
seeing  the  cloudy  prospect  before  me ;  and  I  did,  for  this 
reason,  reject  the  ojfter,  until  I  was  ashamed  any  longer  to  re- 
fuse, not  caring  to  expose  my  character  to  public  censure.  The 
solicitations  of  the  country  overcame  my  objections,  and  in- 
duced me  to  accept  it.  Another  reason  has  of  late  operated  to 
continue  me  in  the  service  until  now,  and  that  is,  the  dawn  of 
hope  that  arose,  when  I  heard  your  lordship  was  destined,  by 
His  Majesty,  for  the  important  command  of  his  armies  in 
America,  and  appointed  to  the  government  of  his  dominion  of 
Virginia.  Hence  it  was  that  I  drew  my  hopes,  and  fondly  pro- 
nounced your  lordship  our  patron.  Although  I  have  not  the 
honor  to  be  known  to  your  lordship,  yet  your  name  was  familiar 
to  my  ear,  on  account  of  the  important  services  rendered  to  His 
Majesty  in  other  parts  of  the  Avorld." 

The  manner  in  which  Washington  was  received  by  Lord 
Loudoun,  on  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  showed  him  at  once, 
that  his  long,  explanatory  letter  had  produced  the  desired 
effect,  and  that  his  character  and  conduct  were  justly  appre- 
ciated. During  his  sojourn  in  Philadelphia,  he  was  frequently 
consulted  on  points  of  frontier  service,  and  his  advice  was 
generally  adopted.  On  one  point  it  failed.  He  advised  that 
an  attack  should  be  made  on  Fort  Duquesne,  simultaneous  with 
the  attempts  on  Canada.  At  such  time  a  great  part  of  the 
garrison  would  be  drawn  away  to  aid  in  the  defense  of  that 
province,  and  a  blow  might  be  struck  more  likely  to  insure  the 
peace  and  safety  of  the  southern  frontier,  than  all  its  forts  and 
defenses. 

Lord  Loudoun,  however,  was  not  to  be  convinced,  or  at  least 
persuaded.  According  to  his  plan,  the  middle  and  southern 
provinces  were  to  maintain  a  merely  defensive  warfare ;  and 


156  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

as  Virginia  would  be  required  to  send  four  hundred  of  her 
troops  to  the  aid  of  South  Carolina,  she  would,  in  fact,  be  left 
weaker  than  before. 

Washington  was  also  disappointed  a  second  time,  in  the  hope 
of  having  his  regiment  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  the  reg- 
ular army,  and  of  obtaining  a  king's  commission  ;  the  latter  he 
was  destined  never  to  hold. 

His  representations  with  respect  to  Fort  Cumberland  had  the 
desired  effect  in  counteracting  the  mischievous  intermeddling 
of  Dinwiddle.  The  Virginia  troops  and  stores  were  ordered  to 
be  again  removed  to  Fort  Loudoun,  at  Winchester,  which  once 
more  became  head-quarters,  while  Fort  Cumberland  was  left  to 
be  occupied  by  a  Maryland  garrison.  Washington  was  in- 
structed, likewise,  to  correspond  and  co-operate,  in  military 
affairs,  with  Colonel  Stanwix,  who  was  stationed  on  the  Pennsyl- 
vania frontier,  with  five  hundred  men  from  the  Royal  American 
regiment,  and  to  whom  he  would  be,  in  some  measure,  subordi- 
nate. This  proved  a  correspondence  of  friendship,  as  well  as 
duty  ;  Colonel  Stanwix  being  a  gentleman  of  high  moral  worth, 
as  well  as  great  ability  in  military  affairs. 

The  great  plan  of  operations  at  the  north  was  again  doomed 
to  failure.  The  reduction  of  Crown  Point,  on  Lake  Champlain, 
which  had  long  been  meditated,  was  laid  aside  and  the  capture 
of  Louisburg  substituted,  as  an  acquisition  of  far  greater  im- 
portance. This  was  a  place  of  great  consequence,  situated  on 
the  isle  of  Cape  Breton,  and  strongly  fortified.  It  commanded 
the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland,  overawed  New  England,  and  was 
a  main  bulwark  to  Acadia. 

In  the  course  of  July,  Lord  Loudoun  set  sail  for  Halifax 
with  all  the  troops  he  could  collect,  amounting  to  about  six 
thousand  men,  to  join  with  Admiral  Holbourne,  who  had  just 
arrived  at  that  port  with  eleven  ships  of  the  line,  a  fire-ship, 
bomb-ketch,  and  fleet  of  transports,  having  on  board  six  thousand 
men.  With  this  united  force  Lord  Loudoun  anticipated  the 
certain  capture  of  Louisburg. 

Scarce  had  the  tidings  of  his  lordship's  departure  reached 
Canada,  when  the  active  Montcalm  again  took  the  field,  to 
follow  up  the  successes  of  the  preceding  year.  Fort  William 
Henry,  which  Sir  Wm.  Johnson  had  erected  on  the  southern 
shore  of  Lake  George,  was  now  his  object ;  it  commanded  the 
lake,  and  was  an  important  protection  to  the  British  frontier. 
A  brave  old  officer.  Colonel  Monro,  with  about  five  hundred 
men,  formed  the  garrison ;  more  than  three  times  that  number 
of  militia  were  intrenched  near  by.  Montcalm  had,  early  in 
the  season,  made  three  ineffectual  attempts  upon  the  fort ;  he 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  157 

now  trusted  to  be  more  successful.  Collecting  his  forces  from 
Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga,  and  the  adjacent  posts,  with  a  con- 
siderable number  of  Canadians  and  Indians,  altogether  nearly 
eight  thousand  men,  he  advanced  up  the  lake,  on  the  1st  of 
August,  in  a  fleet  of  boats,  with  swarms  of  Indian  canoes  in  the 
advance.  The  fort  came  near  being  surprised ;  but  the  troops 
encamped  without  it  abandoned  their  tents  and  hurried  within 
the  works.  A  summons  to  surrender  was  answered  by  a  brave 
defiance.  Montcalm  invested  the  fort,  made  his  approaches, 
and  battered  it  with  his  artillery.  For  five  days  its  veteran 
commander  kept  up  a  vigorous  defense,  trusting  to  receive 
assistance  from  General  Webb,  who  had  failed  to  relieve  Fort 
Oswego  in  the  preceding  year,  and  who  was  now  at  Fort  Edward, 
about  fifteen  miles  distant,  with  upwards  of  five  thousand  men. 
Instead  of  this,  Webb,  who  overrated  the  French  forces,  sent 
him  a  letter,  advising  him  to  capitulate.  The  letter  was  in- 
tercepted by  Montcalm,  but  still  forwarded  to  Monro.  The 
obstinate  old  soldier,  however,  persisted  in  his  defense,  until 
most  of  his  cannon  were  burst,  and  his  ammunition  expended. 
At  length,  in  the  month  of  August,  he  hung  out  a  flag  of  truce, 
and  obtained  honorable  terms  from  an  enemy  who  knew  how  to 
appreciate  his  valor.  Montcalm  demolished  the  fort,  carried 
off  all  the  artillery  and  munitions  of  war,  with  vessels  employed 
in  the  navigation  of  the  lake,  and  having  thus  completed  his 
destruction  of  the  British  defences  on  this  frontier,  returned 
once  more  in  triumph  with  the  spoils  of  victory,  to  hang  up 
fresh  trophies  in  the  churches  of  Canada. 

Lord  Loudoun  in  the  meantime  formed  his  junction  with 
Admiral  Holbourne  at  Halifax,  and  the  troops  were  embarked 
with  all  diligence  on  board  of  the  transports.  Unfortunately, 
the  French  were  again  too  quick  for  them.  Admiral  de  Bois 
de  la  Mothe  had  arrived  at  Louisburg,  with  a  large  naval  and 
land  force ;  it  was  ascertained  that  he  had  seventeen  ships  of 
the  line,  and  three  frigates,  quietly  moored  in  the  harbor ;  that 
the  place  was  well  fortified  and  supplied  with  provisions  and 
ammunition,  and  garrisoned  with  six  thousand  regular  troops, 
three  thousand  natives,  and  thirteen  hundred  Indians. 

Some  hot-heads  would  have  urged  an  attempt  against  all  such 
array  of  force,  but  Lord  Loudoun  was  aware  of  the  probability 
of  defeat,  and  the  disgrace  and  ruin  that  it  would  bring  upon 
British  arms  in  America.  He  wisely,  though  ingloriously,  re- 
turned to  New  York.  Admiral  Holbourne  made  a  silly  de- 
monstration of  his  fleet  off  the  harbor  of  Louisburg,  approach- 
ing within  two  miles  of  the  batteries,  but  retired  on  seeing  the 
French  admiral  preparing  to  unmoor.     He  afterwards  returned 


158  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

with  a  reinforcement  of  four  ships  of  the  line ;  cruised  before 
Louisburg,  endeavoring  to  draw  the  enemy  to  an  engagement, 
which  De  la  Mothe  had  the  wisdom  to  decline  ;  was  overtaken 
by  a  hurricane,  in  which  oiie  of  his  ships  was  lost,  eleven  were 
dismasted,  others  had  to  throw  their  guns  overboard,  and  all 
returned  in  a  shattered  condition  to  England.  Thus  ended 
the  northern  campaign  by  land  and  sea,  a  subject  of  great  mor- 
tification to  the  nation,  and  ridicule  and  triumph  to  the  enemy. 

During  these  unfortunate  operations  to  the  north,  Washing- 
ton was  stationed  at  Winchester,  shorn  of  part  of  his  force  by 
the  detachment  to  South  Carolina,  and  left  with  seven  hundred 
men  to  defend  a  frontier  of  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  extent.  The  capture  and  demolition  of  Oswego  by 
Montcalm  had  produced  a  disastrous  effect.  The  whole  country 
of  the  Five  Nations  was  abandoned  to  the  French.  The  fron- 
tiers of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  were  harassed 
by  repeated  inroads  of  French  and  Indians,  and  Washington 
had  the  mortification  to  see  the  noble  valley  of  the  Shenandoah 
almost  deserted  by  its  inhabitants,  and  fast  relapsing  into  a 
wilderness. 

The  year  wore  away  on  his  part  in  the  harassing  service  of 
defending  a  wide  frontier  with  an  insufficient  and  badly  organ- 
ized force,  and  the  vexations  he  experienced  were  heightened 
by  continual  misunderstandings  with  Governor  Dinwiddle. 
From  the  ungracious  te^lor  of  several  of  that  gentleman's  let- 
ters, and  from  private  information,  he  was  led  to  believe  that 
some  secret  enemy  had  been  making  false  representations  of 
his  motives  and  conduct,  and  prejudicing  the  governor  against 
him.  He  vindicated  himself  warmly  from  the  alleged  aspersions, 
proudly  appealing  to  the  whole  course  of  his  public  career  in 
proof  of  their  falsity.  "  It  is  uncertain,"  said  he,  "  in  what 
light  my  services  may  have  appeared  to  your  honor ;  but  this  I 
know,  and  it  is  the  highest  consolation  I  am  capable  of  feeling, 
that  no  man  that  ever  was  employed  in  a  public  capacity  has 
endeavored  to  discharge  the  trust  reposed  in  him  with  greater 
honesty  and  more  zeal  for  the  country's  interest  than  I  have 
done ;  and  if  there  is  any  person  living  who  can  say,  with  jus- 
tice, that  I  have  offered  any  intentional  wrong  to  the  public,  I 
will  cheerfully  submit  to  the  most  ignominious  punishment 
that  an  injured  people  ought  to  inflict.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
is  hard  to.have  my  character  arraigned,  and  my  actions  con- 
demned, without  a  hearing." 

His  magnanimous  appeal  had  but  little  effect.  Dinwiddie 
was  evidently  actuated  by  the  petty  pique  of  a  narrow  and  illib- 
eral   mind,   impatient  of    contradiction,  even  when  in   Qrror, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  159 

He  took  advantage  of  his  official  station  to  vent  his  spleen  and 
gratify  his  petulance  in  a  variety  of  ways  incompatible  with 
the  courtesy  of  a  gentleman.  It  may  excite  a  grave  smile  at 
the  present  day  to  find  Washington  charged  by  this  very  small- 
minded  man  with  looseness  in  his  way  of  writing  to  him ;  with 
remissness  in  his  duty  towards  him ;  and  even  with  imperti- 
nence in  the  able  and  eloquent  representations  which  he  felt 
compelled  to  make  of  disastrous  mismanagement  in  military 
affairs  ;  and  still  more,  to  find  his  reasonable  request,  after  a 
long  course  of  severe  duty,  for  a  temporary  leave  of  absence  to 
attend  to  his  private  concerns,  peremptorily  refused,  and  that 
with  as  little  courtesy  as  though  he  were  a  mere  subaltern 
seeking  to  absent  himself  on  a  party  of  pleasure. 

The  multiplied  vexations  which  Washington  had  latterly 
experienced  from  this  man,  had  preyed  upon  his  spirits,  and 
contributed,  with  his  incessant  toils  and  anxieties,  to  under- 
mine his  health.  For  some  time  he  struggled  with  repeated 
attacks  of  dysentery  and  fever,  and  continued  in  the  exercise  of 
his  duties  ;  but  the  increased  violence  of  his  malady,  and  the 
urgent  advice  of  his  friend  Dr.  Craik,  the  army  surgeon,  in- 
duced him  to  relinquish  his  post  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
and  retire  to  Mount  Vernon. 

The  administration  of  Dinwiddle,  however,  was  now  at  an 
end.  He  set  sail  for  England  in  January,  1758,  very  little  re- 
gretted, excepting  by  his  immediate  hangers-on,  and  leaving 
a  character  overshadowed  by  the  imputation  of  avarice  and 
extortion  in  the  exaction  of  illegal  fees,  and  of  downright  de- 
linquency in  regard  to  large  sums  transmitted  to  him  by  gov- 
ernment to  be  paid  over  to  the  province  in  indemnification  of 
its  extra  expenses  ;  for  the  disposition  of  which  sums  he  failed 
to  render  an  account. 

He  was  evidently  a  sordid,  narrow-minded,  and  somewhat 
arrogant  man ;  bustling  rather  than  active  ;  prone  to  meddle 
with  matters  of  which  he  was  profoundly  ignorant,  and  ab- 
surdly unwilling  to  have  his  ignorance  enlightened. 


160  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

WASHINGTON  RECOVERS  HIS  HEALTH. AGAIN    IN  COMMAND  AT 

FORT  LOUDOUN. ADMINISTRATION  OF  PITT. LOUDOUN  SUC- 
CEEDED BY  GENERAL  ABERCROMBIE. MILITARY  ARRANGE- 
MENTS.  WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  OF  THE  VIR- 
GINIA   FORCES. AMHERST    AGAINST    LOUISBURG. GENERAL 

WOLFE. MONTGOMERY. CAPTURE    OF    LOUISBURG. ABER 

CROMBIE  ON  LAKE  GEORGE. DEATH  OF  LORD  HOWE. RE- 
PULSE     OF    ABERCROMBIE. SUCCESS      OF      BRADSTREET      AT 

OSWEGO. 

For  several  months  Washington  was  afflicted  hy  returns  of 
his  malady,  accompanied  by  symptoms  indicative,  as  he  thought, 
of  a  decline.  "  My  constitution,'^  writes  he  to  his  friend  Colonel 
Stanwix,  "  is  much  impaired,  and  nothing  can  retrieve  it  but 
the  greatest  care  and  the  most  circumspect  course  of  life.  This 
being  the  case,  as  I  have  now  no  prospect  left  of  preferment  in 
the  military  way,  and  despair  of  rendering  that  immediate  ser- 
vice which  my  country  may  require  from  the  person  command- 
ing its  troops,  I  have  thoughts  of  quitting  my  command  and 
retiring  from  all  public  business,  leaving  my  post  to  be  filled 
by  some  other  person  more  capable  of  the  task,  and  who  may, 
perhaps,  have  his  endeavors  crowned  with  better  success  than 
mine  have  been.'' 

A  gradual  improvement  in  his  health,  and  a  change  in  his 
prospects,  encouraged  him  to  continue  in  what  really  was  his 
favorite  career,  and  at  the  beginning  of  April  he  was  again  in 
command  at  Port  Loudoun.  Mr.  Francis  Fauquier  had  been 
appointed  successor  to  Dinwiddie,  and,  until  he  should  arrive, 
Mr.  John  Blair,  president  of  the  council,  had,  from  his  office, 
charge  of  the  government.  In  the  latter  Washington  had  a 
friend  who  appreciated  his  character  and  services,  and  was  dis- 
posed to  carry  out  his  plans. 

The  general  aspect  of  affairs,  also,  was  more  animating. 
Under  the  able  and  intrepid  administration  of  William  Pitt, 
who  had  control  of  the  British  cabinet,  an  effort  was  made  to 
retrieve  the  disgraces  of  the  late  American  campaign,  and  to 
carry  on  the  war  with  greater  vigor.  The  instructions  for  a 
common  fund  were  discontinued ;  there  was  no  more  talk  of 
taxation  by  parliament.     Lord  Loudoun,  from  whom  so  much 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  161 

liad  been  anticipated,  had  disappointed  by  his  inactivity,  and  been 
relieved  from  a  command  in  which  he  had  attempted  much  and 
done  so  little.  His  friends  alleged  that  his  inactivity  was 
owing  to  a  want  of  unanimity  and  cooperation  in  the  colonial 
governments,  which  paralyzed  all  his  well-meant  efforts. 
Franklin,  it  is  probable,  probed  the  matter  with  his  usual  sagac- 
ity when  he  characterized  him  as  a  man  "  entirely  made  up  of 
indecision." — "  Like  St.  George  on  the  signs,  he  was  always  on 
horseback,  but  never  rode  on." 

On  the  return  of  his  lordship  to  England,  the  general  com- 
mand in  America  devolved  on  Major-general  Abercrombie,  and 
the  forces  were  divided  into  three  detached  bodies  ;  one,  under 
Major-general  Amherst,  was  to  operate  in  the  north  with  the 
fleet  under  Boscawen,  for  the  reduction  of  Louisburg  and  the 
island  of  Cape  Breton ;  another,  under  Abercrombie  himself, 
was  to  j^roceed  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  on  Lake 
Champlain  ;  and  the  third,  under  Brigadier-general  Forbes, 
who  had  the  charge  of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  was 
to  undertake  the  reduction  of  Fort  Duquesne.  The  colonial 
troops  were  to  be  supplied,  like  the  regulars,  with  arms,  ammu- 
nition, tents  and  provisions,  at  the  expense  of  government,  but 
clothed  and  paid  by  the  colonies  ;  for  which  the  king  would  rec- 
ommend to  Parliament  a  proper  compensation.  The  provin- 
cial officers  appointed  by  the  governors,  and  of  no  higher  rank 
than  colonel,  were  to  be  equal  in  command,  when  united  in 
service  with  those  who  held  direct  from  the  king,  according  to 
the  date  of  their  commissions.  By  these  wise  provisions  of  Mr. 
Pitt,  a  fertile  cause  of  heartburnings  and  dissensions  was  re- 
moved. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  Washington  saw  his 
favorite  measure  at  last  adopted,  the  reduction  of  Fort  Du- 
quesne ;  and  he  resolved  to  continue  in  the  service  until  that 
object  was  accomplished.  In  a  letter  to  Stanwix,  who  was  now 
a  brigadier-general,  he  modestly  requested  to  be  mentioned 
in  favorable  terms  to  General  Forbes,  "  not,"  said  he,  "  as  a 
person  who  would  depend  upon  him  for  further  recommendation 
to  military  preferment  (for  I  have  long  conquered  all  such  in- 
clinations, and  shall  serve  this  campaign  merely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  affording  my  best  endeavors  to  bring  matters  to  a  con- 
clusion), but  as  a  person  who  would  gladly  be  distinguished  in 
some  measures  from  the  common  run  of  provincial  officers,  as 
I  understand  there  will  be  a  motley  herd  of  us."  He  had  the 
satisfaction  subsequently,  of  enjoying  the  fullest  confidence  of 
General  Forbes,  who  knew  too  well  the  sound  judgment  and 
practical  ability  evinced  by  him   in  the  unfoitunate  campaign 


1^2  LtF^  OF  WASBlNGTOX. 

of  Braddock  not  to  be  desirous  of  availing  himself  of  liis 
counsels. 

Washington  still  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  Virginia 
troops,  now  augmented,  by  an  act  of  the  Assembly,  to  two  reg- 
iments of  one  thousand  men  each ;  one  led  by  himself,  the 
other  by  Colonel  Byrd ;  the  whole  destined  to  make  a  part  of 
the  army  of  General  Forbes  in  the  expedition  against  Fort 
Duquesne. 

Of  the  animation  which  he  felt  at  the  prospect  of  serving  in 
this  long-desired  campaign,  and  revisiting  with  an  effective 
force  the  scene  of  past  disasters,  we  have  a  proof  in  a  short 
letter,  written  during  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  to  Major 
Francis  Halket,  his  former  companion  in  arms. 

"  My  dear  Halket, — Are  we  to  have  you  once  more  among 
us  ?  And  shall  we  revisit-together  a  hapless  spot,  that  proved 
so  fatal  to  many  of  our  former  brave  companions  ?  Yes ; 
and  I  rejoice  at  it,  hoping  it  will  now  be  in  our  power  to 
testify  a  just  abhorrence  of  the  cruel  butcheries  exercised  on 
our  friends  in  the  unfortunate  day  of  General  Braddock's  de- 
feat ;  and,  moreover,  to  show  our  enemies  that  we  can  practice 
all  that  lenity  of  which  they  only  boast,  without  affording  any 
adequate  proof.'' 

Before  we  proceed  to  narrate  the  expedition  against  Fort 
Duquesne,  however,  we  will  briefly  notice  the  conduct  of  the 
two  other  expeditions,  which  formed  important  parts  in  the 
plan  of  military  operations  for  the  year.  And  first,  of  that 
against  Louisburg  and  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton. 

Major-general  Amherst,  who  conducted  this  expedition,  em- 
barked with  between  ten  and  twelve  thousand  men,  in  the  fleet 
of  Admiral  Boscawen,  and  set  sail  about  the  end  of  May,  from 
Halifax,  in  Nova  Scotia.  Along  with  him  went  Brigadier- 
general  James  Wolfe,  an  officer  young  in  years,  but  a  veteran 
in  military  experience,  and  destined  to  gain  an  almost  romantic 
celebrity.  He  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  born  in  the 
camp,  for  he  was  the  son  of  Major-general  Wolfe,  a  veteran 
officer  of  merit,  and  when  a  lad  had  witnessed  the  battles  of 
Dettingen  and  Fontenoy.  While  a  mere  youth  he  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  at  the  battle  of  Laffeldt,  in  the  Netherlands  ; 
and  now,  after  having  been  eighteen  years  in  the  service,  he 
was  but  thirty-one  years  of  age.  In  America,  however,  he  was 
to  win  his  lasting  laurels. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  the  fleet  arrived  at  the  Bay  of  Gabarus, 
about  seven    miles  to  the  west  of  Louisburg.     The  latter  place 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  163 

was  garrisoned  by  two  thousand  five  hundred  regulars,  and 
three  hundred  militia,  and  subsequently  reinforced  by  upwards 
of  four  hundred  Canadians  and  Indians.  In  the  harbor  were 
six  ships-of-the-line,  and  five  frigates  ;  three  of  which  were 
sunk  across  the  mouth.  For  several  days  the  troops  were  pre- 
vented from  landing  by  boisterous  weather,  and  a  heavy  surf. 
The  French  improved  that  time  to  strengthen  a  chain  of  forts 
along  the  shore,  deepening  trenches,  and  constructing  bat- 
teries. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  preparations  for  landing  were  made  before 
daybreak.  The  troops  were  embarked  in  boats  in  three  divi- 
sions, under  Brigadiers  Wolfe,  Whetmore,  and  Laurens.  The 
landing  was  to  be  attempted  west  of  the  harbor,  at  a  place  feebly 
secured.  Several  frigates  and  sloops  previously  scoured  the 
beach  with  their  shot,  after  which  Wolfe  pulled  for  shore  with 
his  division ;  the  other  two  divisions  distracting  the  attention 
of  the  enemy,  by  making  a  show  of  landing  in  other  parts. 
The  surf  still  ran  high,  the  enemy  pened  a  fire  of  cannon  and 
musketry  from  their  batteries,  many  boats  were  upset,  many 
men  slain,  but  Wolfe  pushed  forward,  sprang  into  the  water 
when  the  boats  grounded,  dashed  through  the  surf  with  his 
men,  stormed  the  enemy's  breastworks  and  batteries,  and  drove 
them  from  the  shore.  Among  the  subalterns  who  stood  by 
Wolfe  on  this  occasion,  was  an  Irish  youth,  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  named  Eichard  Montgomery,  whom,  for  his  gallantry, 
Wolfe  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  and  who  was  destined,  in 
after  years,  to  gain  an  imperishable  renown.  The  other  divis- 
ions effected  a  landing  after  a  severe  conflict;  artillery  and 
stores  were  brought,  on  shore,  and  Louisburg  was  formally 
invested. 

The  weather  continued  boisterous ;  the  heavy  cannon,  and  the 
various  munitions  necessary  for  a  siege,  were  landed  with  dif- 
ficulty. Amherst,  moreover,  was  a  cautious  man,  and  made 
his  approaches  slowly,  securing  his  camp  by  redoubts  and 
epaulements.  The  Chevalier  Drucour,  who  commanded  at  Louis- 
burg, called  in  his  outposts,  and  prepared  for  a  desperate  de- 
fense ;  keeping  up  a  heavy  fire  from  his  batteries,  and  from  the 
ships  in  the  harbor. 

Wolfe,  with  a  strong  detachment,  surprised  at  night  and 
took  possession  of  Light-house  Point,  on  the  northeast  side  of 
the  entrance  to  the  harbor.  Here  he  threw  up  batteries  in 
addition  to  those  already  there,  from  which  he  was  enabled 
greatly  to  annoy  both  town  and  shipping,  as  well  as  to  aid 
Amherst  in  his  slow,  but  regular  and  sure  approaches. 

On  the  ^Ist  of  July,  the   three   largest  of  the  enemy's  ships 


164  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

were  set  on  fire  by  a  bombshell.  On  the  night  of  the  25th 
two  others  of  the  ships  were  boarded,  sword  in  hand,  from  boats 
of  the  squadron  ;  one,  being  aground,  was  burnt,  the  other  was 
towed  out  of  the  harbor  in  triumph.  The  brave  Drucour  kept 
up  the  defense  until  all  the  ships  were  either  taken  or  destroyed ; 
forty,  out  of  fifty-two  pieces  of  cannon  dismounted,  and  his 
works  mere  heaps  of  ruins.  When  driven  to  capitulate,  he  re- 
fused the  terms  proposed,  as  being  too  severe,  and  when 
threatened  with  a  general  assault,  by  sea  and  land,  determined 
to  abide  it,  rather  than  submit  to  what  he  considered  a  humilia- 
tion. The  prayers  and  petitions  of  the  inhabitants,  however, 
overcame  his  obstinacy.  The  place  was  surrendered,  and  he 
and  his  garrison  became  prisoners  of  war.  Captain  Amherst, 
brother  to  the  general,  carried  home  the  news  to  England, 
with  eleven  pairs  of  colors,  taken  at  Louisburg.  There  were 
rejoicings  throughout  the  kingdom.  The  colors  were  borne  in 
triumph  through  the  streets  of  London,  with  a  parade  of  horse 
and  foot,  kettle  drums  and  trumpets,  and  the  thunder  of  artil- 
lery, and  were  put  up  as  trophies  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 

Boscawen,  who  was  a  member  of  Parliament,  received  a  un- 
animous vote  of  praise  from  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the 
youthful  Wolfe,  who  returned  shortly  after  the  victory  to  Eng- 
land, was  hailed  as  the  hero  of  the  enterprise. 

We  have  disposed  of  one  of  the  three  great  expeditions  con- 
templated in  the  plan  of  the  year's  campaign.  The  second  was 
that  against  the  Erench  forts  on  Lakes  George  and  Champlain. 
At  the  beginning  of  July,  Abercrombie  was  encamped  on  the 
borders  of  Lake  George,  with  between  six  and  seven  thousand 
regulars,  and  upwards  of  nine  thousand  provincials  from  New 
England,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey.  Major  Israel  Putnam 
of  Connecticut,  who  had  served  on  this  lake,  under  Sir  William 
Johnson,  in  the  campaign  in  which  Dieskau  was  defeated  and 
slain,  had  been  detached  with  a  scouting  party  to  reconnoiter 
the  neighborhood.  After  his  return  and  report,  Abercrombie 
prepared  to  proceed  against  Ticonderoga,  situated  on  a  tongue 
of  land  in  Lake  Champlain,  at  the  mouth  of  the  strait  com- 
municating with  Lake  George. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  the  forces  were  embarked  in  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  whale-boats,  and  nine  hundred  bateaux,  with 
the  artillery  on  rafts.  The  vast  flotilla  proceeded  slowly  down 
the.  lake,  with  banners  and  pennons  fluttering  in  the  summer 
breeze ;  arms  glittering  in  the  sunshine,  and  martial  music 
echoing  along  the  wood-clad  mountains.  With  Abercrombie 
went  Lord  Howe,  a  young  nobleman,  brave  and  enterprising, 
full  of  martial  enthusiasm,  and  endeared  to  the  soldiery  by  the 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  165 

generosity  of  his  disposition,  and  the  sweetness  of  his  manners. 

On  the  first  night  they  bivouacked  for  some  hours  at  Sab- 
bath-day Point,  but  reembarked  before  midnight.  The  next 
day  they  landed  on  a  point  on  the  western  shore  just  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  strait  leading  to  Lake  Champlain.  Here  they 
were  formed  into  three  columns,  and  pushed  forward. 

The}'  soon  came  upon  the  enemy's  advanced  guard,  a  bat- 
talion encamped  behind  a  log  breastwork.  The  French  set  fire 
to  their  camp,  and  retreated.  The  columns  kept  their  form, 
and  pressed  forward,  but,  through  ignorance  of  their  guides, 
became  bewildered  in  a  dense  forest,  fell  into  confusion,  and 
blundered  upon  each  other. 

Lord  Howe  urged  on  with  the  van  of  the  right  centre  column. 
Putnam,  who  was  with  him,  and  more  experienced  in  forest 
warfare,  endeavored  in  vain  to  inspire  him  with  caution.  After 
a  time  they  came  upon  a  detachment  of  the  retreating  foe,  who, 
like  themselves,  had  lost  their  way.  A  severe  conflict  en- 
sued. Lord  Howe,  who  gallantly  led  the  van,  was  killed  at  the 
onset.  His  fall  gave  new  ardor  to  his  troops.  The  enemy 
were  routed,  some  slain,  some  drowned,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  taken  prisoners,  including  five  ofiicers.  Nothing  further 
was  done  that  dayi  The  death  of  Lord  Howe  more  than  counter- 
balanced the  defeat  of  the  enemy.  His  loss  was  bewailed  not 
merely  by  the  army,  but  by  the  American  people  ;  for  it  is 
singular  how  much  this  young  nobleman,  in  a  short  time,  had 
made  himself  beloved.  The  point  near  which  the  troops  had 
landed  still  bears  his  name  ;  the  place  where  he  fell  is  still 
pointed  out ;  and  Massachusetts  voted  him  a  monument  in 
Westminster  Abbey 

With  Lord  Howe  expired  the  master-spirit  of  the  enterprise. 
Abercrombie  fell  back  to  the  landing-place.  The  next  day  he 
sent  out  a  strong  detachment  of  regulars,  royal  provincials,  and 
bateaux  men,  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Bradstreet  of  New  York, 
to  secure  a  saw-mill,  which  the  enemy  had  abandoned.  This 
done,  he  followed  on  the  same  evening  with  the  main  forces, 
and  took  post  at  the  mill,  within  two  miles  of  the  ford.  Here 
he  was  joined  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  with  between  four  and 
five  hundred  savage  warriors  from  the  Mohawk  River. 

Montcalm  had  called  in  all  his  forces,  between  three  and  four 
thousand  men,  and  was  strongly  posted  behind  deep  intrench- 
ments  and  breastworks  eight  feet  high ;  with  an  abatis,  of 
felled  trees,  in  front  of  his  lines,  presenting  a  horrid  barrier, 
with  their  jagged  boughs  pointing  outward.  Abercrombie  was 
deceived  as  to  the  strength  of  the  French  works ;  his  engineers 
persuaded  him  they  were  formidable  only  in   appearance,  but 


166  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

really  weak  and  flimsy.  Without  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his 
cannon,  and  against  the  opinion  of  his  most  judicious  officers, 
he  gave  orders  to  storm  the  works.  Never  were  rash  orders 
more  gallantly  obeyed.  The  meji  rushed  forward  with  fixed 
bayonets,  and  attempted  to  force  their  way  through,  or  scramble 
over  the  abatis,  under  a  sheeted  fire  of  swivels  and  musketry. 
In  the  desperation  of  the  moment,  the  officers  even  tried  to  cut 
their  way  through  with  their  swords.  Some  even  reached  the 
parapet,  where  they  were  shot  down.  The  breastwork  was  too 
high  to  be  surmounted,  and  gave  a  secure  cover  to  the  enemy. 
E-epeated  assaults  were  made,  and  as  often  repelled,  with  dread- 
ful havoc.  The  Iroquois  warriors,  who  had  arrived  with  Sir 
William  Johnson,  took  no  part,  it  is  said,  in  this  fierce  conflict, 
but  stood  aloof  as  unconcerned  spectators  of  the  bloody  strife 
of  white  men. 

After  four  hours  of  desperate  and  fruitless  fighting.  Aber- 
crombie,  who  had  all  the  time  remained  aloof  at  the  saw-mill, 
gave  up  the  ill-judged  attempt,  and  withdrew  once  more  to 
the  landing-place,  with  the  loss  of  nearly  two  thousand  in 
killed  and  wounded.  Had  not  the  vastly  inferior  force  of 
Montcalm  prevented  him  from  sallying  beyond  his  trenches, 
the  retreat  of  the  British  might  have  be^n  pushed  to  a  head- 
long and  disastrous  flight. 

Abercombie  had  still  nearly  four  times  the  number  of  the 
enemy,  with  cannon,  and  all  the  means  of  carrying  on  a  siege 
with  every  prospect  of  success  ;  but  the  failure  of  this  rash 
assault  seems  completely  to  have  dismayed  him.  The  next  day 
he  reembarked  all  his  troops,  and  returned  across  that  lake  where 
his  disgraced  banners  had  recently  waved  so  proudly. 

While  the  genqral  was  planning  fortifications  on  Lake 
George,  Colonel  Bradstreet  obtained  permission  to  carry  into 
effect  an  expedition  which  he  had  for  some  time  meditated, 
and  which  had  been  a  favored  project  with  the  lamented  Howe. 
This  was  to  reduce  Fort  Frontenac,  the  stronghold  of  the  French 
on  the  north  side  of  the  entrance  of  Lake  Ontario,  commanding 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  This  post  was  a  central 
point  of  Indian  trade,  whither  the  tribes  resorted  from  all  parts 
of  a  vast  interior,  sometimes  a  distance  of  a  thousand  miles,  to 
traffic  away  their  peltries  with  the  fur-traders.  It  was,  more- 
over, a  magazine  for  the  more  southern  posts,  among  which 
was  Fort  Duquesne  on  the  Ohio. 

Bradstreet  was  an  officer  of  spirit.  Pushing  his  way  along 
the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  and  by  the  Oneida,  where  he  was 
joined  by  several  warriors  of  the  Six  Nations,  he  arrived  at 
Oswego  in  August,  with  nearly  three  thousand  men,  the  greater 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  l67 

part  of  them  provincial  troops  of  ISTew  York  and  Massachusetts. 
Emharking  at  Oswego  in  open  hoats,  he  crossed  Lake  Ontario, 
and  landed  within  a  mile  of  Frontenac.  The  fort  mounted 
sixty  guns,  and  several  mortars,  yet,  though  a  place  of  such 
importance,  the  garrison  consisted  of  merely  one  hundred  and 
ten  men,  and  a  few  Indians.  These  either  fled,  or  surrendered 
at  discretion.  In  the  fort  was  an  immense  amount  of  mer- 
chandise and  military  stores,  part  of  the  latter  intended  for  the 
supply  of  Fort  Duquesne.  In  the  harbor  were  nine  armed 
vessels,  some  of  them  carrying  eighteen  guns,  the  whole  of  the 
enemy's  shipping  on  the  lake.  Two  of  these  Colonel  Bradstreet 
freighted  with  part  of  the  spoils  of  the  fort,  the  others  he  de- 
stroyed ;  then  having  dismantled  fhe  fortifications,  and  laid 
waste  everything  which  he  could  not  carry  away,  he  recrossed 
the  lake  to  Oswego,  and  returned  with  his  troops  to  the  army 
on  Lake  George. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SLOW  OPERATIONS. WASHINGTON  ORDERS  OUT  THE  MILITIA. 

MISSION  TO  WILLIAMSBURG. HALT  AT  MR.  CHAMBERLAYNe's. 

MRS.  MARTHA  CUSTIS. A  BRIEF  COURTSHIP. AN  ENGAGE- 
MENT.  RETURN  TO  WINCHESTER. THE  RIFLE  DRESS. IN- 
DIAN SCOUTS.— WASHINGTON  ELECTED  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF  BUR- 
GESSES.— TIDINGS  OP  Amherst's  success. — the  new  road 

TO  FORT    DUQUESNE. MARCH    FOR    THE    FORT. INDISCREET 

CONDUCT    OP   MAJOR  GRANT. DISASTROUS  CONSEQUENCES. 

WASHINGTON  ADVANCES  AGAINST  FORT  DUQUESNE. END  OF 

THE  EXPEDITION. WASHINGTON  RETURNS  HOME. HIS  MAR- 
RIAGE. 

Operations  went  on  slowly  in  that  part  of  the  year's  cam- 
paign in  whicli  Washington  was  immediately  engaged — the 
expedition  against  Fort  Dnquesne.  Brigadier-general  Forbes, 
who  was  commander-in-chief,  was  detained  at  Philadelphia  by 
those  delays  and  cross-purposes  incident  to  military  affairs  in 
a  new  country.  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  was  to  command  the 
advanced  division,  took  his  station,  with  a  corps  of  regulars, 
at  llaystown,  in  the  centre  of  Pennsylvania.  There  slowly 
assembled  troops  from  various  parts.  Three  thousand  Penn- 
sylvanians,  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  South  Carolinians,  and  a 
few  hundred  men  from  elsewhere. 

Washington,  in  the  meantime,  gathered  together  his  scattered 


leg  LIFE  OF  WASHINGrON. 

regiments  at  Wincliester,  some  from  a  distance  of  two  hundred 
miles,  and  diligently  disciplined  his  recruits.  He  had  two 
Virginia  regiments  under  him,  amounting,  when  complete, 
to  about  nineteen  hundred  men.  Seven  hundred  Indian  war- 
riors, also,  came  lagging  into  his  camp,  lured  by  the  prospect 
of  a  successful  campaign. 

The  president  of  the  council  had  given  Washington  a  dis- 
cretionary power  in  the  present  juncture  to  order  out  militia 
for  the  purpose  of  garrisoning  the  fort  in  the  absence  of  the 
regular  troops.  Washington  exercised  the  power  with  extreme 
reluctance.  He  considered  it,  he  said,  an  affair  of  too  im- 
portant and  delicate  a  nature  for  him  to  manage,  and  appre- 
hended the  discontent  it  might  occasion.  In  fact,  his  sym- 
pathies were  always  with  the  husbandmen  and  the  laborers  of 
the  soil,  and  he  deplored  the  evils  imposed  upon  them  by 
arbitrary  drafts  for  military  service — a  scruple  not  often  indulged 
by  youthful  commanders. 

The  force  thus  assembling  was  in  want  of  arms,  tents,  field- 
equipage,  and  almost  every  requisite.  Washington  had  made 
repeated  representations,  by  letter,  of  the  destitute  state  of  the 
Virginia  troops,  but  without  avail ;  he  was  now  ordered  by  Sir 
John  St.  Clair,  the  quartermaster-general  of  the  forces,  under 
General  Forbes,  to  repair  to  Williamsburg,  and  lay  the  state  of 
the  case  before  the  council.  He  set  off  promptly  on  horseback, 
attended  by  Bishop,  the  well-trained  military  servant,  who 
had  served  the  late  General  Braddock.  It  proved  an  eventful 
journey,  though  not  in  a  military  point  of  view.  In  cross- 
ing a  ferry  of  the  Pamunkey,  a  branch  of  York  River,  he  fell 
in  company  with  a  Mr.  Chamberlayne,  who  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  w^ho,  in  the  spirit  of  Virginia  hospitality,  claimed 
him  as  a  guest.  It  was  with  difficulty  Washington  could  be 
prevailed  on  to  halt  for  dinner,  so  impatient  was  he  to  arrive 
at  Williamsburg,  and  accomplish  his  mission. 

Among  the  guests  at  Mr.  Chamberlayne's  was  a  young  and 
blooming  widow,  Mrs.  Martha  Custis,  daughter  of  Mr.  Jolm 
Dandridge,  both  patrician  names  in  the  province.  Her  hus- 
band, John  Parke  Custis,  had  been  dead  about  three  years, 
leaving  her  with  two  young  children,  and  a  large  fortune.  She 
is  represented  as  being  rather  below  the  middle  size,  but  ex- 
tremely well  shaped,  w?th  an  agreeable  countenance,  dark  hazel 
eyes  and  hair,  and  those  frank,  engaging  manners,  so  captivat- 
ing in  Southern  women.  We  are  not  informed  whether  Wash- 
ington had  met  with  her  before  ;  probably  not  during  her 
widowhood,  as  during  that  time  he  had  been  almost  continually 
on  the  frontier.     We  have  shown  that,  with  all  his  gravity  and 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  169 

reserve,  he  was  quickly  susceptible  to  female  charms  ;  and  they 
may  have  had  a  greater  effect  upon  him  when  thus  casually 
encountered  in  fleeting  moments  snatched  from  the  cares  and 
perplexities  and  rude  scenes  of  frontier  warfare.  At  any  rate, 
his  heart  appears  to  have  been  taken  by  surprise. 

The  dinner,  which  in  those  days  was  an  earlier  meal  than  at 
present,  seemed  all  too  short.  The  afternoon  passed  away  like 
a  dream.  Bishop  Avas  punctual  to  the  orders  he  had  received 
on  halting;  the  horses  pawed  at  the  door;  but  for  once  Wash- 
ington loitered  in  the  path  of  duty.  The  horses  were  counter- 
manded, and  it  was  not  until  the  next  morning  that  he  was 
again  in  the  saddle,  spurring  for  Williamsburg.  Happily  the 
White  House,  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Custis,  was  in  New  Kent 
County,  at  no  great  distance  from  that  city,  so  that  he  had  op- 
portunities of  visiting  her  in  the  intervals  of  business.  His  time 
for  courtship,  however,  was  brief.  Military  duties  called  him 
back  almost  immediately  to  Winchester ;  but  he  feared,  should 
he  leave  the  matter  in  suspense,  some  more  enterprising  rival 
might  supplant  him  during  his  absence,  as  in  the  case  of  Miss 
Philipse,  at  New  York.  He  improved,  therefore,  his  brief  op- 
portunity to  the  utmost.  The  blooming  widow  had  many 
suitors,  but  Washington  was  graced  with  that  renown  so  en- 
nobling in  the  eyes  of  women.  In  a  word,  before  they  separat- 
ed, they  had  mutually  plighted  their  faith,  and  the  marriage 
was  to  take  place  as  soon  as  the  campaign  against  Fort  Duquesne 
was  at  an  end. 

Before  returning  to  Winchester,  Washington  was  obliged  to 
hold  conferences  with  Sir  John  St.  Clair  and  Colonel  Bouquet, 
at  an  intermediate  rendezvous,  to  give  them  information  re- 
specting the  frontiers,  and  arrange  about  the  marching  of  his 
troops.  His  constant  word  to  them  was  forward!  forward! 
For  the  precious  time  for  action  was  slipping  away,  and  he 
feared  their  Indian  allies,  so  important  to  their  security  while 
on  the  march,  might,  with  their  usual  fickleness,  lose  patience 
and  return  home. 

On  arriving  at  Winchester,  he  found  his  troops  restless  and 
discontented  from  prolonged  inaction  ;  the  inhabitants  impa- 
tient of  the  burdens  imposed  on  them,  and  of  the  disturbances 
of  an  idle  camp;  while  .the  Indians,  as  he  apprehended,  had 
deserted  outright.  It  was  a  great  relief,  therefore,  when  he 
received  orders  from  the  commander-in-chief  to  repair  to  Fort 
Cumberland.  He  arrived  there  on  the  2d  of  July,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  open  a  road  between  that  post  and  head-quarters,  at 
Raystown,  thirty  miles  distant,  where  Colonel  Bouquet  was 
stationed. 


170  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

His  troops  were  scantily  supplied  with  regimental  clothing. 
The  weather  was  oppressively  warm.  He  now  conceived  the 
idea  of  equipping  them  in  the  light  Indian  hunting  garb,  and 
even  of  adopting  it  himself.  Two  companies  were  accordingly 
equipped  in  this  style,  and  sent  under  the  command  of  Major 
Lewis  to  head-quarters.  ^'  It  is  an  unbecoming  dress,  I  own, 
for  an  officer,"  writes  Washington,  "but  convenience  rather 
than  show,  I  think,  should  be  consulted.  The  reduction  of  bat- ' 
horses  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  recommend  it,  for  nothing  is 
more  certain  than  that  less  baggage  would  be  required." 

The  experiment  was  successful.  "  The  dress  takes  very 
well  here,"  writes  Colonel  Bouquet ;  "  and,  thank  God,  we  see 
nothing  but  shirts  and  blankets.  .  .  .  Their  dress  should 
be  one  pattern  for  this  expedition."  Such  was  probably  the 
origin  of  the  American  rifle  dress,  afterwards  so  much  worn  in 
warfare,  and  modeled  on  the  Indian  costume. 

The  army  was  now  annoyed  by  scouting  parties  of  Indians 
hovering  about  the  neighborhood.  Expresses  passing  between 
the  posts  were  fired  upon ;  a  wagoner  was  shot  down.  Wash- 
ington sent  out  counter-parties  of  Cherokees.  Colonel  Bouquet 
required  that  each  party  should  be  accompanied  by  an  officer 
and  a  number  of  white  men.  Washington  complied  with  the 
order,  though  he  considered  them  an  encumbrance  rather  than 
an  advantage.  "Small  parties  of  Indians,"  said  he,  "will  more 
effectually  harass  the  enemy  by  keeping  them  under  continual 
alarms,  than  any  parties  of  white  men  can  do.  For  small 
parties  of  the  latter  are  not  equal  to  the  task,  not  being  so 
dexterous  at  skulking  as  Indians;  and  large  parties  will  be  dis- 
covered by  their  spies  early  enough  to  have  a  su2)erior  force 
opposed  to  them."  With  all  his  efforts,  however,  he  was  never 
able  fully  to  make  the  officers  of  the  regular  army  appreciate 
the  importance  of  Indian  allies  in  these  campaigns  in  the 
wilderness. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  earnestly  discountenanced  a  proposi- 
tion of  Colonel  Bouquet,  to  make  an  irruption  into  the  enemy's 
country  with  a  strong  party  of  regulars.  Such  a  detachment 
he  observed,  could  not  be  sent  without  a  cumbersome  train  of 
supplies,  which  would  discover  it  to  the  enemy,  who  must  at 
that  time  be  collecting  his  whole  force  at  Tort  Duquesne  ;  the 
enterprise,  therefore,  would  be  likely  to  terminate  in  a  mis- 
carriage, if  not  in  the  destruction  of  the  party.  We  shall  see 
that  his  opinion  was  oracular. 

As  Washington  intended  to  retire  from  military  life  at  the 
close  of  this  campaign,  he  had  proposed  himself  to  the  electors 
of  Frederick  County  as  their  representative  in  the  House  of 


IIFM  OP  WASIlimTOK  171 

Burgesses.  The  election  was  coming  on  at  Winchester ;  his 
friends  pressed  him  to  attend  it,  and  Colonel  Bouquet  gave 
him  leave  of  absence  ;  but  he  declined  to  absent  himself  from 
his  post  for  the  promotion  of  his  political  interests.  There 
were  three  competitors  in  the  field,  yet  so  high  was  the  public 
opinion  of  his  merit,  that,  though  Winchester  had  been  his 
head-quarters  for  two  or  three  years  past,  and  he  had  occa- 
sionally enforced  martial  law  with  a  rigorous  hand,  he  was 
elected  by  a  large  majorit}^  The  election  was  carried  on  some- 
what in  the  English  style.  There  was  much  eating  and  drink- 
ing at  the  expense  of  tlie  candidate.  Washington  appeared  on 
the  hustings  by  proxy,  and  his  representative  was  chaired 
about  the  town  with  enthusiastic  applause  and  huzzaing  for 
Colonel  Washington. 

On  the  21st  of  July  arrived  tidings  of  the  brilliant  success 
of  that  part  of  the  scheme  of  the  year's  campaign  conducted 
by  General  Amherst  and  Admiral  T3oscawen,  who  had  reduced 
the  strong  town  of  Louisburg  and  gained  possession  of  the 
island  of  Cape  Breton.  This  intelligence  increased  Washing- 
ton's impatience  at  the  delays  of  the  expedition  with  which  he 
was  connected.  He  wished  to  rival  these  successes  by  a  bril- 
liant blow  in  the  South.  Perhaps  a  desire  for  personal  dis- 
tinction in  the  eyes  of  the  lady  of  his  choice  may  have  been  at 
the  bottom  of  this  impatience  ;  for  we  are  told  that  he  kept 
up  a  constant  correspondence  with  her  throughout  the  cam- 
paign 

Understanding  that  the  commander-in-chief  had  some 
thoughts  of  throwing  a  body  of  light  troops  in  the  advance,  he 
wrote  to  Colonel  Bouquet,  earnestly  soliciting  his  influence  to 
have  himself  and  his  Virginia  regiment  included  in  the  detach- 
ment. "  If  any  argument  is  needed  to  obtain  this  favor,"  said 
he,  ^'  I  hope,  without  vanity,  I  may  be  allowed  to  say,  that 
from  long  intimacy  with  these  woods,  and  frequent  scouting  in 
them,  my  men  are  at  least  as  well  acquainted  with  all  the 
passes  and  difficulties  as  any  troops  that  will  be  employed." 

He  soon  learnt  to  his  surprise,  however,  that  the  road  to 
which  his  men  were  accustomed,  and  which  had  been  worked 
by  Braddock's  troops  in  his  campaign,  was  not  to  be  taken  in 
the  present  expedition,  but  a  new  one  opened  through  the 
heart  of  Pennsylvania,  from  Kaystown  to  Fort  Duquesne,  on 
the  track  generally  taken  by  the  northern  traders.  He  in- 
stantly commenced  long  and  repeated  remonstrances  on  the 
subject ;  representing  that  Braddock's  road,  from  recent  ex- 
amination, only  needed  partial  repairs,  and  showing  by  clear 
calculation  that  an  army  could  reach  Fort  Duquesne   by  that 


if 2  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

route  ill  thirty-four  days,  so  that  the  whole  campaign  might  he 
effected  by  the  middle  of  October;  whereas  the  extreme  labor 
of  opening  a  new  road  across  mountains,  swamps,  and  through 
a  densely  wooded  country,  would  detain  them  so  late,  that  the 
season  would  be  over  before  they  could  reach  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion. His  representations  were  of  no  avail.  The  officers  of 
the  regular  service  had  received  a  fearful  idea  of  Braddock's 
road  from  his  own  despatches,  wherein  he  had  described  it  as 
lying  "  across  mountains  and  rocks  of  an  excessive  height, 
vastly  steep,  and  divided  by  torrents  and  rivers,"  whereas  the 
Pennsylvania  traders,  who  were  anxious  for  the  opening  of  the 
new  road  through  their  province,  described  the  country  through 
which  it  would  pass  as  less  difficult,  and  its  streams  less  sub- 
ject to  inundation ;  above  all,  it  was  a  direct  line,  and  fifty 
miles  nearer.  This  route,  therefore,  to  the  great  regret  of 
Washington  and  the  indignation  of  the  Virginia  Assembly, 
was  definitely  adopted,  and  sixteen  hundred  men  were  im- 
mediately thrown  in  the  advance  from  Raystown  to  work 
upon  it. 

The  first  of  September  found  Washington  still  encamped  at 
Fort  Cumberland,  his  troops  sickly  and  dispirited,  and  the 
brilliant  expedition  which  he  had  anticipated  dwindling  down 
into  a  tedious  operation  of  road-making.  In  the  mean  time, 
his  scouts  brought  him  word  that  the  whole  force  at  Fort 
Duquesne  on  the  13th  of  August,  Indians  included,  did  not 
exceed  eight  hundred  men :  had  an  early  campaign  been 
pressed  forward,  as  he  recommended,  the  place  by  this  time 
would  have  been  captured.  At  length,  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, he  received  orders  from  General  Forbes  to  join  him 
with  his  troops  at  E-aystown,  where  he  had  just  arrived,  hav- 
ing been  detained  by  severe  illness.  He  was  received  by  the 
general  with  the  highest  marks  of  respect.  On  all  occasions, 
both  in  private  and  at  councils  of  war,  that  commander  treated 
his  opinions  with  the  greatest  deference.  He,  moreover, 
adopted  a  plan  drawn  out  by  Washington  for  the  march  of  the 
army ;  and  an  order  of  battle  which  still  exists^  furnishing  a 
proof  of  his  skill  in  frontier  warfare. 

It  was  now  the  middle  of  September ;  yet  the  great  body  of 
men  engaged  in  opening  the  new  military  road,  after  incredible 
toil,  had  not  advanced  above  forty-five  miles,  to  a  place  called 
Loyal  Hannan,  a  little  beyond  Laurel  Hill.  Colonel  Bouquet, 
who  commanded  the  division  of  nearly  two  thousand  men  sent 
forward  to  open  this  road,  had  halted  at  Loyal  Hannan  to 
establish  a  military  post  and  deposit. 

He  was  upwards  of  fifty  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne,  and  was 


L1F:E  of  WASHINGTON.  173 

tempted  to  adopt  the  measure,  so  strongly  discountenanced  by 
Washington,  of  sending  a  party  on  a  foray  into  the  enemy's 
country.  He  accordingly  detached  Major  Grant  with  eight 
hundred  picked  men,  some  of  them  Highlanders,  others,  in 
Indian  garb,  the  part  of  Washington's  Virginian  regiment  sent 
forward  by  him  from  Cumberland  under  command  of  Major 
Lewis. 

The  instructions  given  to  Major  Grant  were  merely  to  recon- 
noiter  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and 
ascertain  the  strength  and  position  of  the  enemy.  He  con- 
ducted the  enterprise  with  the  foolhardiness  of  a  man  eager  for 
personal  notoriety.  His  whole  object  seems  to  have  been  by 
open  bravado  to  provoke  an  action.  The  enemy  were  apprised, 
through  their  scouts,  of  his  approach,  but  suffered  him  to  ad- 
vance unmolested.  Arriving  at  night  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  fort,  he  posted  his  men  on  a  hill,  and  sent  out  a  party  of 
observation,  who  set  fire  to  a  log  house  near  the  walls  and  re- 
turned to  the  encampment.  As  if  this  were  not  sufficient  to 
put  the  enemy  on  the  alert,  he  ordered  the  reveille  to  be  beaten 
in  the  morning  in  several  places ;  then,  posting  Major  Lewis 
with  his  provincial  troops  at  a  distance  in  the  rear  to  protect . 
the  baggage,  he  marshalled  his  regulars  in  battle  array,  and  sent 
an  engineer,  with  a  covering  party,  to  take  a  plan  of  the  works 
in  full  view  of  the  garrison. 

Not  a  gun  was  fired  by  the  fort;  the  silence  which  was 
maintained  was  mistaken  for  fear,  and  increased  the  arrogance 
and  blind  security  of  the  British  commander.  At  length, 
when  he  was  thrown  off  his  guard,  there  was  a  sudden  sally  of 
the  garrison,  and  an  attack  on  the  flanks  by  Indians  hid  in 
ambush.  A  scene  now  occurred  similar  to  that  at  the  defeat  of 
Braddock.  The  British  officers  marshaled  their  men  according 
to  European  tactics,  and  the  Highlanders  for  some  time  stood 
their  ground  bravely  ;  but  the  destructive  fire  and  horrid  yells 
of  the  Indians  soon  produced  panic  and  confusion.  Major 
Lewis,  at  the  first  noise  of  the  attack,  left  Captain  Bullitt, 
with  fifty  Virginians,  to  guard  the  baggage,  and  hastened  with 
the  main  part  of  his  men  to  the  scene  of  action.  The  contest 
was  kept  up  for  some  time,  but  the  confusion  was  irretrievable. 
The  Indians  sallied  from  their  concealment,  and  attacked  with 
the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  Lewis  fought  hand  to  hand 
with  an  Indian  brave,  whom  he  laid  dead  at  his  feet,  but  was 
surrounded  by  others,  and  only  saved  his  life  by  surrendering 
himself  to  a  French  officer.  Major  Grant  surrendered  himself 
in  like  manner.  The  whole  detachment  was  put  to  the  rout 
with  dreadful  carnage. 


174  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Captain  Bullitt  rallied  several  of  the  fugitives,  and  prepared 
to  make  a  forlorn  stand;  as  the  only  chance  where  the  enemy 
was  overwhelming  and  merciless.  Despatching  the  most  valu- 
able baggage  with  the  strongest  horses,  he  made  a  barricade 
with  the  baggage  wagons,  behind  which  he  posted  his  men, 
giving  them  orders  how  they  were  to  act.  All  this  was  the 
thought  and  the  work  almost  of  a  moment,  for  the  savages,  hav- 
ing finished  the  havoc  and  plunder  of  the  field  of  battle,  were 
hastening  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  Bullitt  suffered  them  to 
come  near,  when,  on  a  concerted  signal,  a  destructive  fire  was 
opened  from  behind  the  baggage  wagons.  They  were  checked 
for  a  time  ;  but  were  again  pressing  forward  in  greater  num- 
bers, when  Bullitt  and  his  men  held  out  the  signal  of  capitula- 
tion, and  advanced  as  if  to  surrender.  When  within  eight 
yards  of  the  enemy,  they  suddenly  leveled  their  arms,  poured 
a  most  effective  volley,  and  then  charged  with  the  bayonet. 
The  Indians  fled  in  dismay,  and  Bullitt  took  advantage  of  this 
check  to  retreat  with  all  speed,  collecting  the  wounded  and  the 
scattered  fugitives  as  he  advanced.  The  routed  detachment 
came  back  in  fragments  to  Colonel  Bouquet's  camp  at  Loyal 
Hannan,  with  the  loss  of  twenty-one  officers  and  two  hundred 
and  seventy-three  privates  killed  and  taken.  The  Highlanders 
and  the  Virginians  were  those  that  fought  the  best  and  suffered 
the  most  in  this  bloody  battle.  Washington's  regiment  lost  six 
officers  and  sixty-two  privates. 

If  Washington  could  have  taken  any  pride  in  seeing  his  pres- 
ages of  misfortune  verified,  he  might  have  been  gratified  by 
the  result  of  this  rash  ^^  irruption  into  the  enemy's  country," 
which  was  exactly  what  he  had  predicted.  In  his  letters  to 
Governor  Fauquier,  however,  he  bears  lightly  on  the  error  of 
Col.  Bouquet.  "  From  all  accounts  I  can  collect,"  says  he,  "  it 
appears  very  clear  that  this  was  a  very  ill-concerted,  or  a  very 
ill-executed  plan,  perhaps  both ;  but  it  seems  to  be  generally 
acknowledged  that  Major  Grant  exceeded  his  orders,  and  that 
no  disposition  was  made  for  engaging." 

Washington,  who  was  at  K-aystown  when  the  disastrous 
news  arrived,  was  publicly  complimented  by  General  Forbes, 
on  the  gallant  conduct  of  his  Virginian  troops,  and  Bullitt's 
behavior  was  "  a  matter  of  great  admiration."  The  latter  was 
soon  after  rewarded  with  a  major's  commission. 

As  a  further  mark  of  the  high  opinion  now  entertained  of 
provincial  troops  for  frontier  service,  Washington  was  given 
the  command  of  a  division,  partly  composed  of  his  own  men,  to 
keep  in  the  advance  of  the  main  body,  clear  the  roads,  throw 
out  scouting  parties,  and  repel  Indian  attacks. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  175 

It  was  the  5tli  of  November  before  the  whole  army  assembled 
at  Loyal  Hannan.  Winter  was  now  at  hand,  and  upwards  of 
fifty  miles  of  wilderness  were  yet  to  be  traversed,  by  a  road 
not  yet  formed,  before  they  could  reach  Fort  Duquesne.  Again, 
Washington's  predictions  seemed  likely  to  be  verified,  and  the 
expedition  to  be  defeated  by  delay ;  for  in  a  council  of  war  it 
was  determined  to  be  impracticable  to  advance  further  with 
the  army  that  season.  Three  prisoners,  however,  who  were 
brought  in,  gave  such  an  account  of  the  weak  state  of  the  gar- 
rison at  Fort  Duquesne,  its  want  of  provisions,  and  the  defec- 
tion ot  the  Indians,  that  it  was  determined  to  push  forward. 
The  march  was  accordingly  resumed,  but  without  tents  or  bag- 
gage, and  with  only  a  light  train  of  artillery. 

Washington  still  kept  the  advance.  After  leaving  Loyal 
Hannan,  the  road  presented  traces  of  the  late  defeat  of  Grant ; 
being  strewed  with  human  bones,  the  sad  relics  of  fugitives  cut 
down  by  the  Indians,  or  of  wounded  soldiers  who  had  died  on 
the  retreat ;  they  lay  mouldering  in  various  stages  of  decay, 
mingled  with  the  bones  of  horses  and  of  oxen.  As  they  ap- 
proached Fort  Duquesne  these  mementos  of  former  disasters 
became  more  frequent ;  and  the  bones  of  those  massacred  in 
the  defeat  of  Braddock,  still  lay  scattered  about  the  battlefield, 
whitening  in  the  sun. 

At  length  the  army  arrived  in  sight  of  Fort  Duquesne,  ad- 
vancing with  great  precaution,  and  expecting  a  vigorous  de- 
fense ;  but  that  formidable  fortress,  the  terror  and  scourge  of 
the  frontier,  and  the  object  of  such  warlike  enterprise,  fell  with- 
out a  blow.  The  recent  successes  of  the  English  forces  in 
Canada,  particularly  the  capture  and  destruction  of  Fort  Fronte- 
nac,  had  left  the  garrison  without  hope  of  reinforcements  and 
supplies.  The  whole  force,  at  the  time,  did  not  exceed  five 
hundred  men,  and  the  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted.  The 
commander,  therefore,  waited  only  until  the  English  army  was 
within  one  day's  march,  when  he  embarked  his  troops  at  night 
in  bateaux,  blew  up  his  magazines,  set  fire  to  the  fort,  and  re- 
treated down  the  Ohio,  by  the  light  of  the  flames.  On  the  25th 
of  November,  Washington,  with  the  advanced  guard,  marched 
in,  and  planted  the  British  flag  on  the  yet  smoking  ruins. 

One  of  the  first  ofiices  of  the  army  was  to  collect  and  bury, 
in  one  common  tomb,  the  bones  of  their  fellow  soldiers  who  had 
fallen  in  the  battles  of  Braddock  and  Grant.  In  this  pious 
duty  it  is  said  every  one  joined,  from  the  general  down  to  the 
private  soldier  ;  and  some  veterans  assisted,  with  heavy  hearts 
and  frequent  ejaculations  of  poignant  feeling^  who  had  beei^ 
present  in  the  scenes  of  defeat  and  carnage, 


176  LIFJ^  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  ruins  of  the  fortress  were  now  put  in  a  defensible  state^ 
and  garrisoned  by  two  hundred  men  from  AVashington's  regi- 
ment ;  the  name  was  changed  to  that  of  Fort  Pitt,  in  honor  of 
the  illustrious  British  minister,  wdiose  measures  had  given  vigor 
and  effect  to  this  year's  campaign  ;  it  has  since  been  modified 
into  Pittsburgh,  and  designates  one  of  the  most  busy  and  popu- 
lous cities  of  the  interior. 

The  reduction  of  Fort  Duquesne  terminated,  as  Washington 
had  foreseen,  the  troubles  and  dangers  of  the  southern  frontier. 
The  French  dominion  of  the  Ohio  was  at  an  end ;  the  In- 
dians, as  usual,  paid  homage  to  the  conquering  power,  and  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  with  all  the  tribes  between  the 
Ohio  and  the  lakes. 

With  this  campaign  ended,  for  the  present,  the  military 
career  of  Washington.  His  great  object  was  attained,  the  res- 
toration of  quiet  and  security  to  his  native  province;  and, 
having  abandoned  all  hope  of  attaining  rank  in  the  regular 
army,  and  his  health  being  much  impaired,  he  gave  up  his 
commission  at  the  close  of  the  year,  and  retired  from  the  ser- 
vice, followed  by  the  applause  of  his  fellow-soldiers,  and  the 
gratitude  and  admiration  of  all  his  countrymen. 

His  marriage  with  Mrs.  Custis  took  place  shortly  after  his 
return.  It  was  celebrated  on  the  6th  of  January,  1759,  at  the 
White  House,  the  residence  of  the  bride,  in  the  good  old  hospi- 
table style  of  Virginia,  amid  a  joyous  assemblage  of  relatives 
and  friends. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

PLAN     OF     OPERATIONS      FOR      1759. INVESTMENT      OF      FORT 

NIAGARA. DEATH      OF     PRIDEAUX. SUCCESS     OF     SIR    WIL- 
LIAM   JOHNSON. AMHERST     AT    TICONDEROGA. WOLFE    AT 

QUEBEC. HIS      TRIUMPH      AND      DEATH. FATE      OF      MONT- 
CALM.  CAPITULATION    OF    QUEBEC. ATTEMPT    OF    DE    LEVI 

TO     RETAKE     IT. ARRIVAL      OF      A     BRITISH     FLEET. LAST 

STAND     OF      THE     FRENCH     AT    MONTREAL. SURRENDER    OF 

CANADA. 

Before  following  Washington  into  the  retirement  of  domes- 
tic life,  we  think  it  proper  to  notice  the  events  w^hich  closed 
the  great  struggle  between  England  and  France  for  empire  in 
America.     In  that  struggle  he  had  first  become  practiced  in 


LIFE  OF  WASIIINGTOX.  177 

arms,  and  schooled  in  the  ways  of  the  work! ;  and  its  results 
will  be  found  connected  with  the  history  of  his  later  years. 

General  Abercrombie  had  been  superseded  as  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  forces  in  America  by  Major-general  Amherst,  who 
had  gained  great  favor  l)y  the  reduction  of  Louisburg.  Ac- 
cording to  the  plan  of  operations  for  1759,  General  Wolfe,  who 
had  risen  to  fame  by  his  gallant  conduct  in  the  same  affair, 
was  to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence  in  a  fleet  of  ships  of  war,  with 
eight  thousand  men,  as  soon  as  the  river  should  be  free  of  ice, 
and  lay  siege  to  Quebec,  the  capital  of  Canada.  General  Am- 
herst, in  the  meantime,  was  to  advance,  as  Abercrombie  had 
done,  by  Lake  George,  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
reduce  those  forts,  cross  Lake  Champlain,  push  on  to  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  cooperate  with  Wolfe. 

A  third  expedition,  under  Brigadier-general  Prideaux,  aided 
by  Sir  William  Johnson  and  his  Indian  warriors,  was  to  attack 
Fort  Niagara,  which  controlled  the  whole  country  of  the  Six 
Nations,  and  commanded  the  navigation  of  the  great  lakes,  and 
the  intercourse  between  Canada  and  Louisiana.  Having  re^ 
duced  this  fort,  he  was  to  traverse  Lake  Ontario,  descend  the 
St.  Lawrence,  capture  Montreal,  and  join  his  forces  with  those 
of  Amherst. 

The  last-mentioned  expedition  was  the  first  executed.  Gen- 
eral Prideaux  embarked  at  Oswego  on  the  first  of  July,  with  a 
large  body  of  troops,  regulars  and  provincials — the  latter  partly 
from  New  York.  He  was  accompanied  by  Sir  William  John- 
son, and  his  Indian  braves  of  the  Mohawk.  Landing  at  an 
inlet  of  Lake  Ontario,  within  a  few  miles  of  Fort  Niagara,  he 
advanced,  without  being  opposed,  and  proceeded  to  invest  it. 
The  garrison,  six  hundred  strong,  made  a  resolute  defense. 
The  siege  was  carried  on  by  regular  approaches,  but  pressed 
with  vigor.  On  the  20th  of  July,  Prideaux,  in  visiting  his 
trenches,  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  cohorn.  Informed 
by  express  of  this  misfortune.  General  Amherst  detached  from 
the  main  army  Brigadier-general  Gage,  the  officer  who  had  led 
Braddock's  advance,  to  take  the  command. 

In  the  meantime,  the  siege  had  been  conducted  by  Sir 
William  Johnson  with  courage  and  sagacity.  He  was  destitute 
of  military  science,  but  had  a  natural  aptness  for  warfare, 
especially  for  the  rough  kind  carried  on  in  the  wilderness. 
Being  informed  by  his  scouts  that  twelve  hundred  regular 
troops,  drawn  from  Detroit,  Venango,  and  Presque  Isle,  and 
led  by  D'Aubry,  with  a  number  of  Indian  auxiliaries,  were 
hastening  to  the  rescue,  he  detached  a  force  of  grenadiers  and 
light  infantry,  with  some  of  his   Mohawk  warriors,  to  inter- 


178  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

cept  them.  They  came  in  sight  of  each  other  on  the  road,  be- 
tween ISTiagara  Falls  and  the  fort,  within  the  thundering  sound 
of  the  one,  and  the  distant  view  of  the  other.  Johnson's 
"  braves "  advanced  to  have  a  parley  with  the  hostile  redskins. 
The  latter  received  them  with  a  war-whoop,  and  Frenchman 
and  savage  made  an  impetuous  onset.  Johnson's  regulars  and 
provincials  stood  their  ground  firmly,  while  his  red  warriors 
fell  on  the  flanks  of  the  enemy.  After  a  sharp  conflict,  the 
French  were  broken,  routed,  and  pursued  through  the  woods, 
with  great  carnage.  Among  the  prisoners  taken  were  seven- 
teen ofiicers.  The  next  day  Sir  William  Johnson  sent  a 
trumpet,  summoning  the  garrison  to  surrender,  to  spare  the 
effusion  of  blood,  and  prevent  outrages  by  the  Indians.  They 
had  no'  alternative ;  were  permitted  to  march  out  with  the 
honors  of  war,  and  were  protected  by  Sir  William  from  his 
Indian  allies.  Thus  was  secured  the  key  to  the  communication 
between  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  and  to  the  vast  interior  re- 
gion connected  with  them.  The  blow  alarmed  the  French  for 
the  safety  of  Montreal,  and  De  Levi,  the  second  in  command 
of  their  Canadian  forces,  hastened  up  from  before  Quebec,  and 
took  post  at  the  fort  of  Oswegatchie  (now  Ogdensburg),  to  de- 
fend the  passes  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

We  now  proceed  to  notice  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point.  In  the  month  of  July,  General  Amherst 
embarked  with  nearly  twelve  thousand  men,  at  the  upper  part  of 
Lake  George,  and  proceeded  down  it,  as  Abercrombie  had  done 
in  the  preceding  year,  in  a  vast  fleet  of  whale-boats,  bateaux, 
and  rafts,  and  all  the  glitter  and  parade  of  war.  On  the  22d, 
the  army  debarked  at  the  lower  part  of  the  lake,  and  advanced 
toward  Ticonderoga.  After  a  slight  skirmish  with  the  advanced 
guard,  they  secured  the  old  post  at  the  saw-mill. 

Montcalm  was  no  longer  in  the  fort ;  he  was  absent  for  the 
protection  of  Quebec.  The  garrison  did  not  exceed  four  hun- 
dred men.  Bourlamarque,  a  brave  officer,  who  commanded,  at 
first  seemed  disposed  to  make  defense ;  but,  against  such  over- 
whelming force,  it  would  have  been  madness.  Dismantling  the 
fortifications,  therefore,  he  abandoned  them,  as  he  did  likewise 
those  at  Crown  Point,  and  retreated  down  the  lake. to  assemble 
forces,  and  make  a  stand  at  the  Isle  Aux  Noix,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  Montreal  and  the  province. 

Instead  of  following  him  up,  and  hastening  to  cooperate  with 
Wolfe,  General  Amherst  proceeded  to  repair  the  works  at  Ti-' 
conderoga,  and  erect  a  new  fort  at  Crown  Point,  though  neither ; 
were  in  present  danger  of  being  attacked,  nor  would  be  of  use; 
if  Canada  were  conquered.   Amherst,  however,  was  one  of  thosa' 


LiPE  OF  wAsumoTom  179 

cautious  men,  who  in  seeking  to  be  sure,  are  apt  to  be  fatally 
slow.  His  delay  enabled  the  enemy  to  rally  their  forces  at  Isle 
Aux  Noix,  and  call  in  Canadian  reinforcements,  while  it  de- 
prived Wolfe  of  that  cooperation  which,  it  will  be  shown,  was 
most  essential  to  the  general  success  of  the  campaign. 

Wolfe,  with  his  eight  thousand  men,  ascended  the  St.  Law- 
rence in  the  fleet  in  the  month  of  June.  With  him  came 
Brigadiers  Monckton,  Townshend,  and  Murray,  youthful  and 
brave  like  himself,  and,  like  himself,  already  schooled  in  arms. 
Monckton,  it  will  be  recollected,  had  signalized  himself,  when  a 
colonel,  in  the  expedition  in  1755,  in  which  the  French  were 
driven  from  Nova  Scotia.  The  grenadiers  of  the  army  were 
commanded  by  Colonel  Guy  Carleton,  and  part  of  the  light  in- 
fantry by  Lieutenant-colonel  William  Howe,  both  destined  to 
celebrity  in  after  years,  in  the  annals  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. Colonel  Howe  was  brother  of  the  gallant  Lord  Howe, 
whose  fall  in  the  preceding  year  was  so  generally  lamented. 
Among  the  officers  of  the  fleet,  was  Jervis,  the  future  admiral, 
and  ultimately  Earl  St.  Vincent,  and  the  master  of  one  of  the 
ships  was  James  Cook,  afterwards  renowned  as  a  discoverer. 

About  the  end  of  June,  the  troops  debarked  on  the  large, 
populous,  and  well-cultivated  Isle  of  Orleans,  a  little  below 
Quebec,  and  encamped  in  its  fertile  fields.  Quebec,  the  citadel 
of  Canada,  was  strong  by  nature.  It  was  built  round  the  point 
of  a  rocky  promontory,  and  flanked  by  precipices.  The  crystal 
current  of  the  St.  Lawrence  swept  by  it  on  the  right,  and  the 
River  St.  Charles  flowed  along  on  the  left,  before  mingling 
with  that  mighty  stream.  The  place  was  tolerably  fortified, 
but  art  had  not  yet  rendered  it,  as  at  the  present  day,  impreg- 
nable. 

Montcalm  commanded  the  post.  His  troops  were  more  nu- 
merous than  the  assailants  ;  but  the  greater  part  were  Cana- 
dians, many" of  them  inhabitants  of  Quebec ;  and  he  had  a  host 
of  savages.  His  forces  were  drawn  out  along  the  northern 
shore  below  the  city,  from  the  river  St.  Charles  to  the  Falls  of 
Montmorency,  and  their  position  was  secured  by  deep  intrench- 
ments. 

The  night  after  the  debarkation  of  Wolfe's  troops  a  furious 
storm  caused  great  damage  to  the  trans2)orts,  and  s^nk  some  of 
the  small  craft.  While  it  was  still  raging,  a  number  of  fire- 
ships,  sent  to  destroy  the  fleet,  came  driving  down.  They 
were  boarded  intrepidly  by  the  British  seamen,  and  towed  out 
of  the  way  of  doing  harm.  After  much  resistance,  Wolfe  es- 
tablished batteries  at  the  west  point  of  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and 
at  Point  Levi;  on  the  right  (or  south)  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence 


180 


LIFl:  OF  WASTltNGTOn. 


within  cannon  range  of  the  city — Colonel  Guy  Carleton,  com- 
mander at  the  former  battery  ;  Brigadier  Monckton  at  the  latter. 
From  Point  Levi  bombshells  and  red-hot  shot  were  discharged 
many  houses  were  set  on  fire  in  the  upper  town,  the  lower  town 
was  reduced  to  rubbish ;  the  main  fort,  however,  remained  un- 
harmed. 

Anxious  for  a  decisive  action,  Wolfe,  on  the  9th  of  July, 
crossed  over  in  boats  from  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  to  the  north  bank 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  encamped  below  the  Montmorency. 
It  was  an  ill-judged  position,  for  there  was  still  that  tumultuous 
stream,  with  its  rocky  banks,  between  him  and  the  camp  of 
Montcalm  ;  but  the  ground  he  had  chosen  was  higher  than  that 
occupied  by  the  latter,  and  the  Montmorency  had  a  ford  below 
the  falls,  passable  at  low  tide.  Another  ford  was  discovered, 
three  miles  within  land,  but  the  banks  were  steep,  and  shagged 
with  forest.  At  both  fords  the  vigilant  Montcalm  had  thrown 
up  breastworks,  and  posted  troops. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  Wolfe  made  a  reconnoitering  expedi- 
tion up  the  river  with  two  armed  sloops,  and  two  transports 
with  troops.  He  passed  Quebec  unharmed,  and  carefully  noted 
the  shores  above  it.  Rugged  cliffs  rose  almost  from  the  water's 
edge.  Above  them,  he  was  told,  was  an  extent  of  level  ground, 
called  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  by  which  the  upper  town  might 
be  approached  on  its  weakest  side  ;  but  how  was  that  plan  to 
be  attained,  when  the  cliffs,  for  the  most  part,  were  inaccessible 
and  every  practicable  place  fortified  ? 
.  He  returned  to  Montmorency  disappointed,  and  resolved  to 
attack  Montcalm  in  his  camp,  however  difiicult  to  be  approach- 
ed, and  however  strongly  posted.  Townshend  and  Murray, 
with  their  brigades,  were  to  cross  the  Montmorency  at  low  tide, 
below  the  falls,  and  storm  the  redoubt  thrown  up  in  front  of 
the  ford.  Monckton,  at  the  same  time,  was  to  cross  with  part 
of  his  brigade,  in  boats  from  Point  Levi.  The  ship  Centurion, 
stationed  in  the  channel,  was  to  check  the  fire  of  a  battery 
which  commanded  the  ford  ;  a  train  of  artillery,  planted  on  an 
eminence,  was  to  enfilade  the  enemy's  entrenchments  ;  and  two 
armed,  flat-bottomed  boats,  were  to  be  run  on  shore,  near  the 
redoubt,  and  favor  the  crossing  of  the  troops. 

As  usual,  in  complicated  orders,  part  were  misunderstood  or 
neglected,  a\id  confusion  was  the  consequence.  Many  of  the 
boats  from  Point  Levi  ran  aground  on  a  shallow  in  the  river, 
where  they  were  exposed  to  a  severe  fire  of  shot  and  shells. 
Wolfe,  who  was  on  the  shore,  directing  everything,  endeavored'! 
to  stop  his  impatient  troops  until  the  boats  could  be  got  afloat,; 
and  the  men  landed.     Thirteen  companies  of  grenadiers  andj 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  181 

two  hundred  provincials  were  the  first  to  land.  Without  wait- 
ing for  Brigadier  Monckton  and  his  regiments ;  without  waiting 
for  the  cooperation  of  the  troops  under  Townshend  ;  without 
waiting  even  to  be  drawn  up  in  form,  the  grenadiers  rushed 
impetuously  towards  the  enemy's  entrenchments.  A  sheeted 
fire  mowed  them  down,  and  drove  them  to  take  shelter  behind 
the  redoubt,  near  the  ford,  which  the  enemy  had  abandoned. 
Here  they  remained,  unable  to  form  under  the  galling  fire  to 
which  they  were  exposed,  whenever  they  ventured  from  their 
covert.  Monckton's  brigade  at  length  was  landed,  drawn  up  in 
order,  and  advanced  to  their  relief,  driving  back  the  enem3^ 
Thus  protected,  the  grenadiers  retreated  as  precipitately  as 
they  had  advanced,  leaving  many  of  their  comrades  wounded 
on  the  field,  who  were  massacred  and  scalped  in  their  sight  by 
the  savages.  The  delay  thus  caused  w^as  fatal  to  the  enterprise. 
The  day  was  advanced  ;  the  weather  became  stormy  ;  the  tide 
began  to  make  ;  at  a  later  hour,  retreat,  in  the  case  of  a  second 
repulse,  would  be  impossible.  Wolfe,  therefore,  gave  up  the 
attack,  and  withdrew  across  the  river,  having  lost  upwards  of 
four  hundred  men,  through  this  headlong  impetuosity  of  iJhe 
grenadiers.  The  two  vessels  which  had  been  run  aground, 
were  set  on  fire,  lest  they  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  * 

Brigadier  Murray  was  now  detached  with  twelve  hundred 
men,  in  transports,  to  ascend  above  the  town,  and  cooperate 
with  Rear  Admiral  Holmes,  in  destroying  the  enemy's  shipping 
and  making  descents  upon  the  north  shore.  The  shipping 
were  safe  from  attack ;  some  stores  and  ammunition  were  de- 
stroyed, some  prisoners  taken,  and  Murray  returned  with  the 
news  of  the  capture  of  Fort  Niagara,  Ticonderoga,  and  Crown 
Point,  and  that  Amherst  was  preparing  to  attack  the  Isle  Aux 
Noix. 

Wolfe,*  of  a  delicate  constitution  and  sensitive  nature,  had 
been  deeply  mortified  by  the  severe  check  sustained  at  the 
Falls  of  Montmorency,  fancying  himself  disgraced ;  and  these 
successes  of  his  fellow-commanders  in  other  parts  increased  his 
self -upbraiding.  The  difficulties  multiplying  around  him,  and 
the  delay  of  General  Amherst  in  hastening  to  his  aid,  preyed 
incessantly  on  his  spirits  ;  he  was  dejected  even  to  despondency^, 
and  declared  he  would  never  return  without  success,  to  be  ex- 
posed, like  other  unfortunate  commanders,  to  the  sneers  and  re- 
proaches of  the  populace.  The  agitation  of  his  mind,  and  his 
acute  sensibility,  brought  on  a  fever,  which  for  some  time  in- 
capacitated him  from  taking  the  field. 

*  Wolfe's  Letter  to  Pitt,  Sept.  2d,  1759. 


1§2  LtF^  OP  WAstimOTOK. 

In  the  midst  of  his  illness  he  called  a  council  of  war,  in  which 
the  whole  plan  of  operations  was  altered.  It  was  determined 
to  convey  troops  above  the  town,  and  endeavor  to  make  a 
diversion  in  that  direction,  or  draw  Montcalm  into  the  open 
field.  Before  carrying  this  plan  into  effect,  Wolfe  again  re- 
connoitered  the  town  in  company  with  Admiral  Saunders,  but 
nothing  better  suggested  itself. 

The  brief  Canadian  summer  was  over ;  they  were  in  the 
month  of  September.  The  camp  at  Montmorency  was  broken, 
up.  The  troops  were  transported  to  Point  Levi,  leaving  a 
sufficient  number  to  man  the  batteries  on  the  Isle  of  Orleans. 
On  the  fifth  and  sixth  of  September  the  embarkation  took  place 
above  Point  Levi,  in  transports  which  had  been  sent  up  for 
the  purpose.  Montcalm  detached  De  Bougainville  with  fifteen 
hundred  men  to  keep  along  the  north  shore  above  the  town, 
watch  the  movements  of  the  squadron,  and  prevent  a  landing. 
To  deceive  him.  Admiral  Holmes  moved  with  the  ships  of  war 
three  leagues  beyond  the  place  where  the  landing  was  to  be 
attempted.  He  was  to  drop  down,  however,  in  the  night,  and 
protect  the  landing.  Cook,  the  future  discoverer,  also,  was 
employed  with  others  to  sound  the  river  and  place  buoys  op- 
posite the  camp  of  Montcalm,  as  if  an  attack  were  meditated 
in  that  quarter. 

Wolfe  was  still  suffering  under  the  effects  of  his  late  fever. 
"My  constitution,"  writes  he  to  a  friend,  ''is  entirely  ruined, 
without  the  consolation  of  having  done  any  considerable  service 
to  the  state,  and  without  any  prospect  of  it."  Still  he  was  un- 
remitting in  his  exertions,  seeking  to  wipe  out  the  fancied  dis- 
grace incurred  at  the  Falls  of  Montmorency.  It  was  in  this 
mood  he  is  said  to  have  composed  and  sung  at  his  evening  mess 
that  little  campaigning  song  still  linked  with  his  name  : 

"  Why,  soldiers,  why 
Should  we  be  melancholy,  boys  ? 
Why,  soldiers,  why  ? 
Whose  business  'tis  to  die." 
Even  when   embarked  in  his    midnight  enterprise,  the   pre- 
sentiment of  death  seems  to  have  cast  its  shadow  over  him.     A 
midshipman,  who  was  present,*  used  to  relate  that,  as  Wolfe 
sat  among  his  officers,  and  the  boats  floated  down  silently  with 
the  current,  he  recited,  in  low  and  touching  tones,  Gray's  Elegy 
in  a   Country  Churchyard,  then  just   published.     One  stanza 
may  especially  have  accorded  with  his  melancholy  mood  ; 

"  The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave 
Await  alike  the  inevitable  hour, 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 
*  Afterwards   Professor  John  Robinson  of  Edinburgh. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  183 

"  Xow,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  when  he  had  finished,  '^  I  would 
rather  be  the  author  of  that  poem  than  take  Quebec." 

The  descent  was  made  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  past  midnight, 
on  the  13th  of  September.  They  dropped  down  silently  with 
the  swift  current.  "  Qici  va  la  f  "  (who  goes  there  ?  )  cried  a 
sentinel  from  the  shore.  "X«  France^''  replied  a  captain  in 
the  first  boat,  who  understood  the  French  language.  ^'  A  quel 
regiment?  ^^  was  the  demand.  "7)e  La  Heine  ^^  (the  queen's), 
replied  the  captain,  knowing  that  regiment  was  in  De  Bougain- 
ville's detachment.  Fortunately,  a  convoy  of  provisions  was 
expected  down  from  De  Bougainville,  which  the  sentinel  sup- 
posed this  to  be.  "  Passe^''  cried  he,  and  the  boats  glided  on 
without  further  challenge.  The  landing  took  place  in  a  cove 
near  Cape  Diamond,  which  still  bears  Wolfe's  name.  He  had 
marked  it  in  reconnoitering,  and  saw  that  a  cragged  path  strag- 
gled up  from  it  to  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  which  might  be 
climbed,  though  with  difficulty,  and  that  it  appeared  to  be 
slightly  guarded  at  top.  Wolfe  was  among  the  first  that  landed 
and  ascended  up  the  steep  and  narrow  path,  where  not  more 
than  two  could  go  abreast,  and  which  had  been  broken  up  by 
cross  ditches.  Colonel  Howe,  at  the  same  time,  with  the  light 
infantry  and  Highlanders,  scrambled  up  the  woody  precipices, 
helping  themselves  by  the  roots  and  branches,  and  putting  to 
flight  a  sergeant's  guard  posted  at  the  summit.  Wolfe  drew 
up  the  men  in  order  as  they  mounted ;  and  by  the  break  of  day 
found  himself  in  possession  of  the  fateful  Plains  of  Abraham. 

Montcalm  was  thunderstruck  when  word  was  brought  to  him 
in  his  camp  that  the  English  were  on  the  heights,  threatening 
the  weakest  part  of  the  town.  Abandoning  his  intrenchments, 
he  hastened  across  the  river  St.  Charles  and  ascended  the 
heights  which  slope  up  gradually  from  its  banks.  His  force 
was  equal  in  number  to  that  of  the  English,  but  a  great  part 
was  made  up  of  colony  troops  and  savages.  When  he  saw  the 
formidable  host  of  regulars  he  had  to  contend  with,  he  sent  off 
swift  messengers  to  summon  De  Bougainville  with  his  detach- 
ment to  his  aid ;  and  De  Vaudreuil  to  reinforce  him  with  fifteen 
hundred  men  from  the  camp.  In  the  meantime  he  prepared  to 
flank  the  left  of  the  English  line  and  force  them  to  the  opposite 
precipices.  Wolfe  saw  his  aim,  and  sent  Brigadier  Townshend 
to  counteract  him  with  a  regiment  which  was  formed  enpoteiice, 
and  supported  by  two  battalions,  presenting  on  the  left  a  double 
front. 

The  French,  in  their  haste,  thinking  they  were  to  repel  a  mere 
scouting  party,  had  brought  but  three  light  field-pieces  witli 
them  5  the  English  had  but  a  single  gun,  which  the  sailors  had 


jg4  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

dragged  up  the  heights.  With  these  they  cannonaded  each 
other  for  a  time,  Montcalm  still  waiting  for  the  aid  he  had 
summoned.  At  length,  about  nine  o'clock,  losing  all  patience, 
he  led  on  his  disciplined  troops  to  a  close  conflict  with  small 
arms,  the  Indians  to  support  them  by  a  galling  fire  from 
thickets  and  corn-fields.  The  French  advanced  gallantly,  but 
irregularly ;  firing  rapidly,  but  with  little  effect.  The  Eng- 
lish reserved  their  fire  until  their  assailants  were  within  forty 
yards,  and  then  delivered  it  in  deadly  volleys.  They  suffered, 
however,  from  the  lurking  savages,  who  singled  out  the  officers. 
Wolfe,  who  was  in  front  of  the  line,  a  conspicuous  mark,  was 
wounded  by  a  ball  in  the  wrist.  He  bound  his  handkerchief 
round  the  wound  and  led  on  the  grenadiers,  with  fixed 
bayonets,  to  charge  the  foe,  who  began  to  waver.  Another 
ball  struck  him  in  the  breast.  He  felt  the  wound  to  be  mortal, 
and  feared  his  fall  might  dishearten  the  troops.  Leaning  on  a 
lieutenant  for  support,  "  Let  not  m}'-  brave  fellows  see  me 
drop,"  said  he  faintly.  He  was  borne  off  to  the  rear ;  water 
was  brought  to  quench  his  thirst,  and  he  was  asked  if  he  would 
have  a  surgeon.  "It  is  needless,"  he  replied;  "it  is  all  over 
with  me."  He  desired  those  about  him  to  lay  him  down.  The 
lieutenant,  seated  himself  upon  the  ground,  and  supported 
him  in  his  arms.  "  They  run  !  they  run  !  see  how  they  run  !  " 
cried  one  of  the  attendants.  "  Who  run  ?  "  demanded  Wolfe, 
earnestly,  like  one  aroused  from  sleep.  "  The  enemy,  sir ; 
they  give  way  everywhere."  The  spirit  of  the  expiring  hero 
flashed  up.  "  Go,  one  of  you,  my  lads,  to  Colonel  Burton  ;  tell 
him  to  march  Webb's  regiment  with  all  speed  down  to  Charles' 
E-iver,  to  cut  off  the  retreat  by  the  bridge."  Then  turning 
on  his  side,  "  Now,  God  be  praised,  I  will  die  in  peace !  " 
said  he,  and  expired,* — soothed  in  his  last  moments  by  the 
idea  that  victory  would  obliterate  the  imagined  disgrace  of 
Montmorency. 

Brigadier  Murray  had  indeed  broken  the  centre  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  Highlanders  were  making  deadly  havoc  with  their 
claymores,  driving  the  French  into  the  town  or  down  to  their 
works  on  the  river  St.  Charles.  Monckton,  the  first  brigadier, 
was  disabled  by  a  wound  in  the  lungs,  and  the  command  de- 
volved on  Townshend,  who  hastened  to  re-form  the  troops  of 
the  centre,  disordered  in  pursuing  the  enemy.  By  this  time 
De  Bougainville  appeared  at  a  distance  in  the  rear,  advancing 
with  two  thousand  fresh  troops,  but  he  arrived  too  late  to  re- 
trieve the  day.  The  gallant  Montcalm  had  received  his  death- 
wound  near  St.  John's  Gate,  while  endeavoring  to  rally  his 
flying  troops,  and  had  been  borne  into  the  town. 

*  Hist  Jour,  of  Capt.  John  Knox,  vol,  i.  p.  79. 


liPE  OF  \VASinNGT02^.  ±SB 

Townsbend  advanced  with  a  force  to  receive  De  Bougain- 
ville ;  but  tbe  latter  avoided  a  combat,  and  retired  into  woods 
and  swamps,  where  it  was  not  thought  prudent  to  follow  him. 
The  English  had  obtained  a  complete  victory,  slain  about  five 
hundred  of  the  enemy,  taken  above  a  thousand  prisoners  and 
among  them  several  officers,  and  had  a  strong  position  on  the 
Plains  of  Abraham,  which  they  hastened  to  fortify  with  re- 
doubts and  artillery,  drawn  up  the  heights. 

The  brave  Montcalm  wrote  a  letter  to  General  Townshend, 
recommending  the  prisoners  to  British  hlimanity.  When  told 
by  his  surgeon  that  he  could  not  survive  above  a  few  hours ; 
''  So  much  the  better,"  replied  he ;  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the 
surrender  of  Quebec."  To  De  K-amsey,  the  French  king's 
lieutenant,  who  commanded  the  garrison,  he  consigned  the 
defense  of  the  city.  "  To  your  keeping,"  said  he,  "  I  com- 
mend the  honor  of  France.  Fll  neither  give  orders,  nor  inter- 
fere anj^  further.  I  have  business  to  attend  to  of  greater  mo- 
ment than  your  ruined  garrison,  and  this  wretched  country. 
My  time  is  short — I  shall  pass  this  night  with  God,  and  pre- 
pare myself  for  death.  I  wish  you  all  comfort ;  and  to  be 
happily  extricated  from  your  present  perplexities."  He  then 
called  for  his  chaplain,  who,  with  the  bishop  of  the  colony, 
remained  with  him  through  the  night.  He  expired  early  in 
the  morning,  dying  like  a  brave  soldier  and  a  devout  Catholic. 
JSTever  did  two  worthier  f cfes  mingle  their  life-blood  on  the  battle- 
field than  Wolfe  and  Montcalm.* 

Preparations  were  now  made  by  the  army  and  the  fleet  to 
make  an  attack  on  both  upper  and  lower  town  ;  but  the  spirit 
of  the  garrison  was  broken,  and  the  inhabitants  were  clamorous 
for  the  safety  of  their  wives  and  children.  On  the  17th  of 
September,  Quebec  capitulated,  and  was  taken  possession  of 
by  the  British,  who  hastened  to  put  it  in  a  complete  posture  of 
defense.  A  garrison  of  six  thousand  effective  men  was  placed 
in  it,  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-general  Murray,  and 
victualed  from  the  fleet.  General  Townshend  embarked  with 
Admiral  Saunders,  and  returned  to  England ;  and  the  wounded 
General  Monckton  was  conveyed  to  New  York,  of  which  he 
afterwards  became  governor. 

Had  Amherst  followed  up  his  success  at  Ticonderoga  the 
preceding  summer,  the  year's  campaign  would  have  ended,  as 
had  been  jDrojected,  in  the  subjugation  of  Canada.  His  cau- 
tious delay  gave  De  Levi,  the  successor  of  Montcalm,  time  to 
rally,  concentrate  the  scattered  French  forces,  and  struggle  for 
the  salvation  of  the  province. 

*  Knox,  Hist  Jour.  vol.  i.  p.  77. 


186  LIFE  OF  WASmNGT02^. 

In  the  following  spring,  as  soon  as  the  river  St.  Lawrence 
opened,  he  approached  Quebec,  and  landed  at  Point  au  Tremble, 
about  twelve  miles  off.  The  garrison  had  suffered  dreadfully 
during  the  winter  from  excessive  cold,  want  of  vegetables  and 
of  fresh  provisions.  Many  had  died  of  scurvy,  and  many  more 
w^ere  ill.  Murray,  sanguine  and  injudicious,  on  hearing  that 
De  Levi  was  advancing  with  ten  thousand  men,  and  five  hundred 
Indians,  sallied  out  with  his  diminished  forces  of  not  more  than 
three  thousand.  English  soldiers,  he  boasted,  were  habituated 
to  victory ;  he  had  a  fine  train  of  artillery,  and  stood  a  better 
chance  in  the  field  than  cooped  up  in  a  wretched  fortification. 
If  defeated,  he  would  defend  the  place  to  the  last  extremity, 
and  then  retreat  to  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and  wait  for  reinforce- 
ments. More  brave  than  discreet,  he  attacked  the  vanguard  of 
the  enemy ;  the  battle  which  took  place  was  fierce  and  san- 
guinary. Murray's  troops  had  caught  his  own  headlong  valor, 
and  fought  until  near  a  third  of  their  number  were  slain.  They 
were  at  length  driven  back  into  the  town,  leaving  their  boasted 
train  of  artillery  on  the  field. 

De  Levi  opened  trenches  before  the  town  the  very  evening  of 
the  battle.  Three  French  ships,  which  had  descended  the 
river,  furnished  him  with  cannon,  mortars,  and  ammunition. 
By  the  11th  of  May,  he  had  one  bomb  battery,  and  three  bat- 
teries of  cannon.  Murray,  equally  alert  within  the  walls, 
strengthened  his  defenses,  and  kept  up  a  vigorous  fire.  His 
garrison  was  now  reduced  to  two  hundred  and  twenty  effective 
men,  and  he  himself,  with  all  his  vaunting  spirit,  was  driven 
almost  to  despair,  when  a  British  fleet  arrived  in  the  river. 
The  whole  scene  was  now  reversed.  One  of  the  French  frigates 
was  driven  on  the  rocks  above  Cape  Diamond ;  another  ran  on 
shore,  and  was  burnt ;  the  rest  of  their  vessels  were  either  taken 
or  destroyed.  The  besieging  army  retreated  in  the  night, 
leaving  provisions,  implements,  and  artillery  behind  them  ;  and 
8S0  rapid  was  their  flight,  that  Murray,  who  sallied  forth  on  the 
following  day,  could  not  overtake  them. 

A  last  stand  for  the  preservation  of  the  colony  was  now  made 
by  the  French  at  Montreal,  where  De  Vaudreuil  fixed  his  head- 
quarters, fortified  himself,  and  called  in  all  possible  aid.  Cana- 
dian and  Indian. 

The  cautious,  but  tardy  Amherst  was  now  in  the  field  to 
carry  out  the  plan  in  which  he  had  fallen  short  in  the  previous 
year.  He  sent  orders  to  General  Murray  to  advance  by  water 
against  Montreal,  with  all  the  forces  that  could  be  spared  from 
Quebec  ;  he  detached  a  body  of  troops  under  Colonel  Haviland 
from  Crown  Point,  to  cross  Lake  Champlain,  take  possession  of 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


187 


the  Isle  Aux  Noix,  and  push  on  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  while  he 
took  the  roundabout  way  with  his  main  army  by  the  Mohawk 
and  Oneida  rivers  to  Lake  Ontario  ;  thence  to  descend  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  Montreal. 

Murray,  according  to  orders,  embarked  his  troops  in   a  great 
number  of  small  vessels,  and  ascended  the  river  in  characteristic 
style,  publishing  manifestoes    in    the    Canadian  villages,  dis- 
arming the  inhabitants,  and   exacting  the  oath  of  neutrality. 
He  looked  forward  to  ne>v  laurels  at  Montreal,  but  the  slow  and 
sure  Amherst  had  anticipated  him.     That  worthy  general,  after 
delaying  on  Lake  Ontario  to  send  out  cruisers,  and  stopping  to 
repair  petty  forts  on  the  upper  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which 
had  been   deserted  by  their  garrisons,  or  surrendered  without 
firing  a  gun,  arrived  on  the  6th  of  September  at  the  island  of 
Montreal,  routed  some  light  skirmishing  parties,  and  presented 
himself  before  the  town.     Vaudreuil  found  himself  threatened 
by  an  army  of  nearly  ten  thousand  men,  and  a  host  of  Indians, 
^for  Amherst  had  called  in  the  aid  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  and 
:his  Mohawk  braves.     To   withstand  a  siege  in  an  almost  open 
^town   against  such  superior   force,  was   out  of  the   question, 
[especially  as  Murray  from  Quebec,   and  Haviland  from  Crown 
'^Point,  were  at  hand  with  additional  troops.     A  capitulation 
^^accordingly  took  place  on  the  8th  of  September,  including  the 
surrender  not  merely  of  Montreal,  but  of  all  Canada. 

Thus  ended  the  contest  between  France  and  England  for 
[dominion  in  America,  in  which,  as  has  been  said,  the  first  gun 
•was  fired  in  Washington's  encounter  with  De  Jumonville.  A 
French  statesman  and  diplomatist  consoled  himself  by  the  per- 
suasion that  it  would  be  a  fatal  triumph  to  England.  It  would 
Jiemove  the  only  check  by  which  her  colonies  were  kept  in  awe. 
f"  They  will  no  longer  need  her  protection,"  said  he  ;  "  she  will 
[call  on  them  to  contribute  toward  supporting  the  burdens  they 
'have  helped  to  bring  on  her,  and  they  will  answer  by  striking 
off  all  dependence.''^  * 

*  Count  de  Vergennes,  French  ambassador  at  Constantinople. 


188  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER    XXYI. 

Washington's  installation  in  the  house  of  burgesses. — 

his  rural  life. mount  vernon    and  its    vicinity. 

aristocratical  days  of  virginia. washington's  man- 
agement of  his  estate. domestic  habits. fox  hunt- 
ing.  lord  fairfax. fishing  and  duck-shooting. the 

poacher. lynch  law. aquatic  state. life  at  anna- 
polis.  ^washington  in  the  dismal  swamp. 

For  three  months  after  his  marriage,  Washington  resided 
with  his  bride  at  the  "  White  House."  During  his  sojourn  there 
he  repaired  to  WilliaAisburg,  to  take  his  seat  in  the  House  of 
Burgesses.  By  a  vote  of  the  House,  it  had  been  determined 
to  greet  his  installation  by  a  signal  testimonial  of  respect. 
Accordingly,  as  soon  as  he  took  his  seat,  Mr.  Robinson,  the 
Speaker,  in  eloquent  language,  dictated  by  the  warmth  of  pri- 
vate friendship,  returned  thanks,  on  behalf  of  the  colony,  for 
the  distinguished  military  services  he  had  rendered  to  his 
country. 

Washington  rose  to  reply ;  blushed — stammered — trembled, 
and  could  not  utter  a  word.  "  Sit  down,  Mr.  Washington," 
said  the  Speaker,  with  a  smile  ;  "  your  modesty  equals  your 
valor,  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of  any  language  I  possess.'^ 

Such  was  Washington's  first  launch  into  civil  life,  in  which 
he  was  to  be  distinguished  by  the  same  judgment,  devotion, 
courage,  and  magnanimity  exhibited  in  his  military  career. 
He  attended  the  House  frequently  during  the  remainder  of  the 
session,  after  which  he  conducted  his  bride  to  his  favorite  abode 
of  Mount  Yernon. 

Mr.  Custis,  the  first  husband  of  Mrs.  Washington,  had  left 
large  landed  property,  and  forty-five  thousand  pounds  sterling 
in  money.  One  third  fell  to  his  widow  in  her  own  right ;  two 
thirds  were  inherited  equally  by  her  two  children, — a  boy  of 
six,  and  a  girl  of  four  years  of  age.  By  a  decree  of  the  General 
Court,  Washington  was  intrusted  with  the  care  of  the  property 
inherited  by  the  children ;  a  sacred  and  delicate  trust,  which 
he  discharged  in  the  most  faithful  and  judicious  manner  ;  be- 
coming more  like  a  parent,  than  a  mere  guardian  to  them. 

From  a  letter  to  his  correspondent  in  England,  it  would  ap- 
pear that  he  had  long  entertained  a  desire  to  visit  that  countrv. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  189 

Had  he  done  so,  his  acknowledged  merit  and  military  services 
would  have  insured  him  a  distinguished  reception  ;  and  it  has 
been  intimated,  that  the  signal  favor  of  government  might 
have  changed  the  current  of  his  career.  We  believe  him,  how- 
ever, to  have  been  too  pure  a  patriot,  and  too  clearly  possessed 
of  the  true  interests  of  his  country,  to  be  diverted  from  the 
course  which  he  ultimately  adopted.  His  marriage,  at  any 
rate,  had  put  an  end  to  all  travelling  inclinations.  In  his  let- 
ter from  Mount  Vernon,  he  writes  :  "  I  am  now,  I  believe, 
fixed  in  this  seat,  with  an  agreeable  partner  for  life,  and  I  hope 
to  find  more  happiness  in  retirement  than  I  ever  experienced 
in  the  wide  and  bustling  world." 

This  was  no  Utopian  dream  transiently  indulged,  amid  the 
charms  of  novelty.  It  was  a  deliberate  purpose  with  him,  the 
result  of  innate  and  enduring  inclinations.  Throughout  the 
whole  course  of  his  career,  agricultural  life  appears  to  have  been 
his  beau  ideal  of  existence,  which  haunted  his  thoughts  even 
amid  the  stern  duties  of  the  field,  and  to  which  he  recurred 
with  unflagging  interest  whenever  enabled  to  indulge  his  nat- 
ural bias. 

Mount  Vernon  was  his  harbor  of  repose,  where  he  repeatedly 
furled  his  sail,  and  fancied  himself  anchored  for  life.  No  im- 
pulse of  ambition  tempted  him  hence ;  nothing  but  the  call  of 
his  country,  and  his  devotion  to  the  public  good.  The  place 
was  endeared  to  him  by  the  remembrance  of  his  brother  Law- 
rence, and  of  the  happy  days  he  had  passed  here  with  that 
brother  in  the  days  of  boyhood ;  but  it  was  a  delightful  place 
in  itself,  and  well  calculated  to  inspire  the  rural  feeling. 

The  mansion  was  beautifully  situated  on  a  swelling  height, 
crowned  with  wood,  and  commanding  a  magnificent  view  up 
and  down  the  Potomac.  The  grounds  immediately  about  it 
were  laid  out  somewhat  in  the  English  taste.  The  estate  was 
apportioned  into  separate  farms,  devoted  to  different  kinds  of 
culture,  each  having  its  allotted  laborers.  Much,  however,  was 
still  covered  with  wild  woods,  seamed  with  deep  dells  and 
runs  of  water,  and  indented  with  inlets ;  haunts  of  deer,  and 
lurking-places  of  foxes.  The  whole  woody  region  along  the 
Potomac  from  Mount  Vernon  to  Belvoir,  and  far  beyond,  with 
its  range  of  forest  and  hills,  and  picturesque  promontories, 
afforded  sport  of  various  kinds,  and  was  a  noble  hunting-ground. 
Washington  had  hunted  through  it  with  oid  Lord  Fairfax  in 
his  stripling  days;  we  do  not  wonder  that  his  feelings  through- 
out life  incessantly  reverted  to  it. 

"  No  estate  in  United  America,"  observes  he,  in  one  of  his 
letters^   "  is  more  pleasantly  situated.     In  a  high  and  healthy 


190  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

country  ;  in  a  latitude  between  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold ; 
on  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the  Avorld  ;  a  river  well  stocked 
with  various  kinds  of  fish  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  in  the 
spring  with  shad,  herrings,  bass,  carp,  sturgeon,  etc.,  in  great 
abundance.  The  borders  of  the  estate  are  washed  by  more  than 
ten  miles  of  tide-water :  several  valuable  fisheries  appertain  to 
it ;  the  whole  shore,  in  fact,  is  one  entire  fishery." 

These  were,  as  yet,  the  aristocratical  days  of  Virginia. 
The  estates  were  large,  and  continued  in  the  same  families  by 
entails.  Many  of  the  wealthy  planters  were  connected  with 
old  families  in  England.  The  young  men,  especially  the 
elder  sons,  were  often  sent  to  finish  their  education  there,  and 
on  their  return  brought  out  the  tastes  and  habits  of  the  mother 
country.  The  governors  of  Virginia  were  from  the  higher 
ranks  of  society,  and  maintained  a  corresponding  state.  The 
"  Established,"  or  Episcopal  Church,  predominated  throughout 
the  ancient  "  dominion,"  as  it  was  termed ;  each  county  was 
divided  into  j)arishes,  as  in  England, — each  with  its  parochial 
church,  its  parsonage  and  glebe.  Washington  was  vestryman 
of  two  parishes,  Fairfax  and  Truro  ;  the  parochial  church  of  the 
former  was  at  Alexandria,  ten  miles  from  Mount  Vernon  ;  of 
the  latter,  at  Pohick,  about  seven  miles.  The  church  at  Po- 
hick  was  rebuilt  on  a  plan  of  his  own,  and  in  a  great  measure 
at  his  expense.  At  one  or  other  of  these  churches  he  attended 
every  Sunday,  when  the  weather  and  the  roads  permitted. 
His  demeanor  was  reverential  and  devout.  Mrs.  Washington 
knelt  during  the  prayers  ;  he  always  stood,  as  was  the  custom 
at  that  time.     Both  were  communicants. 

Among  his  occasional  visitors  and  associates  were  Captain 
Hugh  Mercer  and  Dr.  Craik ;  the  former,  after  his  narrow  es- 
capes from  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  was  quietly 
settled  at  Fredericksburg ;  the  latter,  after  the  campaigns  on 
the  frontier  were  over,  had  taken  up  his  residence  at  Alexan- 
dria, and  was  now  Washington's  family  physician.  Both  were 
drawn  to  him  by  campaigning  ties  and  recollections,  and  were 
ever  welcome  at  Mount  Vernon. 

A  style  of  living  prevailed  among  the  opulent  Virginian  fami- 
lies in  those  days  that  has  long  since  faded  away.  The  houses 
were  spacious,  commodious,  liberal  in  all  their  appointments, 
and  fitted  to  cope  with  the  free-handed,  open-hearted  hospitality 
of  the  owners.  No'thing  was  more  common  than  to  see  hand- 
some services  of  plate,  elegant  equipages,  and  superb  carriage 
horses — all  imported  from  England. 

The  Virginians  have  always  been  noted  for  their  love  of 
Jiorses,  a  manly  passion  which,  in  those  days  of  opulence;  they 


LIT'E  OF  WASHINGTON.  191 

indulged  without  regard  to  expense.  The  rich  planters  vied 
with  each  other  in  their  studs,  importing  the  best  English 
stocks.  Mention  is  made  of  one  of  the  Randolphs  of  Tuckahoe, 
who  built  a  stable  for  his  favorite  dapple-gray  horse,  Shakes- 
peare, with  a  recess  for  the  bed  of  the  negro  groom,  who  always 
slept  beside  him  at  night. 

Washington,  by  his  marriage,  had  added  above  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  to  his  already  considerable  fortune,  and  was 
enabled  to  live  in  ample  and  dignified  style.  His  intimacy 
with  the  Fairfaxes,  and  his  intercourse  with  British  officers  of 
rank,  had  perhaps  had  their  influence  on  his  mode  of  living. 
He  had  his  chariot  and  four,  with  black  postilions  in  livery, 
for  the  use  of  Mrs.  Washington  and  her  lady  visitors.  As  for 
himself,  he  always  appeared  on  horseback.  His  stable  was  well 
filled  and  admirably  regulated.  His  stud  was  thoroughbred 
and  in  excellent  order.  His  household  books  contain  registers 
of  the  names,  ages,  and  marks  of  his  various  horses  ;  such  as 
Ajax,  Blueskin,  Valiant,  Magnolia  (an  Arab),  etc.  Also  his 
dogs,  chiefly  fox-hounds,  Yulcan,  Singer,  Ringwood,  Sweetlips, 
Forester,  Music,  E,ockwood,  Truelove,  etc.* 

A  large  Virginia  estate,  in  those  days,  was  a  little  empire. 
The  mansion-house  was  the  seat  of  government,  with  its  numer- 
ous dependencies,  such  as  kitchens,  smoke-houses,  workshops, 
and  stables.  In  this  mansion  the  planter  ruled  supreme ;  his 
steward  or  overseer  was  his  prime  minister  and  executive  offi- 
cer ;  he  had  his  legion  of  house  negroes  for  domestic  service, 
and  his  host  of  field  negroes  for  the  culture  of  tobacco,  Indian 
corn,  and  other  crops,  and  for  other  out-of-door  labor.  Their 
quarter  formed  a  kind  of  hamlet  apart,  composed  of  various , 
huts,  with  little  gardens  and  poultry  yards,  all  well  stocked, 
and  swarms  of  little  negroes  gamboling  in  the  sunshine.  Then 
there  were  large  wooden  edifices  for  curing  tobacco,  the  staple 
and  most  profitable  production,  and  mills  for  grinding  wheat 
and  Indian  corn,  of  which  large  fields  were  cultivated  for  the 
supply  of  the  family  and  the  maintenance  of  the  negroes. 

*  In  one  of  his  letter-books  we  find  orders  on  his  London  agent  for 
riding  equipments.     For  example: — 

1  man's  riding-saddle,  hogskin  seat,  large  plated  stirrups  and  every- 
thing complete.     Double-reined  bridle  and  Pelham  bit,  plated. 

A  very  neat  and  fashionable  Newmarket  saddle-cloth. 

A  large  and  best  portmanteau,  saddle,  bridle,  and  pillion. 

Cloak-bag,  surcingle;  checked  saddle-cloth,  holsters,  etc. 

A  riding-frock  of  a  handsome  drab-colored  broadcloth,  with  plain 
double  gilt  buttons. 

A  riding-waistcoat  of  superfine  scarlet  cloth  and  gold  lace,  with  but- 
tons like  those  of  the  coat. 

A  blue  surtout  coat. 

A  neat  switch  whip,  silver  cap.  .  i 

Black  velvet  cap  for  servant. 


192  Lt^E  OF  WASntNOTON, 

Among  the  slaves  were  artificers  of  all  kinds,  tailors,  stoe- 
inakers,  carpenters,  smiths,  wheelwrights,  and  so  forth;  so  that 
a  plantation  produced  everything  within  itself  for  ordinary  use  ; 
as  to  articles  of  fashion  and  elegance,  luxuries  and  expensive 
clothing,  they  were  imported  from  London ;  for  the  planters 
on  the  main  rivers,  especially  the  Potomac,  carried  on  an  im- 
mediate trade  with  England.  Their  tobacco  was  put  up  by 
their  own  negroes,  bore  their  own  marks,  was  shipped  on  board 
of  vessels  which  came  up  the  rivers  for  the  purpose,  and  con- 
signed to  some  agent  in  Liverpool  or  Bristol,  with  whom  the 
planter  kept  an  account. 

The  Virginia  planters  were  prone  to  leave  the  care  of  their 
estates  too  much  to  their  overseers,  and  to  think  personal  labor 
a  degradation.  Washington  carried  into  his  rural  affairs  the 
same  method,  activity,  and  circumspection  that  had  distin- 
guished him  in  military  life.  He  kept  his  own  accounts,  posted 
up  his  books  and  balanced  them  with  mercantile  exactness. 
We  have  examined  them,  as  well  as  his  diaries  recording  his 
daily  occupation,  and  his  letter-books,  containing  entries  of 
shipments  of  tobacco,  and  correspondence  with  his  London 
agents.     They  are  monuments  of  his  business  habits.* 

The  products  of  his  estate  also  became  so  noted  for  the  faith- 
fulness, as  to  quality  and  quantity,  with  which  they  were  put 
up,  that  it  is  said  any  barrel  of  flour  that  bore  the  brand  of 
George  Washington,  Mount  Vernon,  was  exempted  from  the 
customary  inspection  in  the  West  India  ports. f 

He  was  an  early  riser,  often  before  daybreak  in  the  winter 
when  the  nights  were  long.  On  such  occasions  he  lit  his  own 
fire  and  wrote  or  read  by  candle-light.  He  breakfasted  at  seven 
in  summer,  at  eight  in  winter.  Two  small  cups  of  tea  and 
three  or  four  cakes  of  Indian  meal  (called  hoe-cakes),  formed  his 

*  The  following  letter  of  Washington  to  his  London  correspondents 
will  give  an  idea  of  the  early  intercourse  of  the  Virginian  planters  with 
the  mother  country : 

"  Our  goods  by  the  Liberty^  Capt.  Walker,  came  to  hand  in  good 
order,  and  soon  after  his  arrival,  as  they  generally  do  when  shipped  in  a 
vessel  to  this  river  [the  Potomac],  and  scarce  ever  when  they  go  to  any 
others;  for  it  don't  often  happen  that  a  vessel  bound  to  one  river  has 
goods  of  any  consequence  to  another ;  and  the  masters,  in  these  cases, 
keep  the  packages  till  an  accidental  conveyance  offers,  and  for  want  of 
better  opportunities  frequently  commit  them  to  boatmen  who  care  very 
little  for  the  goods  so  they  get  their  freight,  and  often  land  them  wher- 
ever it  suits  their  convenience,  not  where  they  have  engaged  to  do  so. 
A  ship  from  London  to  Virginia  may  be  in  Rappahan- 
nock or  any  of  the  other  rivers  three  months  before  I  know  anything  of 
their  arrival,  and  may  make  twenty  voyages  without  my  seeing  or  even 
hearing  of  the  captain." 

t  Speech  of  the  Hon.  Robert  C  Wlnthrop,  on  laying  the  corner-stone 


LIF:B  of  WASHINGTON.  193 

frugal  repast.  Immediately  after  breakfast  lie  mounted  his 
horse  and  visited  those  parts  of  the  estate  where  any  work  was 
going  on,  seeing  to  everything  with  his  own  eyes,  and  often 
aiding  with  his  own  hand. 

Dinner  was  served  at  two  o'clock.  He  ate  heartily,  but  was 
no  epicure,  nor  critical  about  his  food.  His  beverage  was  small 
beer  or  cider,  and  two  glasses  of  old  Madeira.  He  took  tea,  of 
which  he  was  very  fond,  early  in  the  evening,  and  retired 
for  the  night  about  nine  o'clock. 

If  confined  to  the  house  by  bad  weather,  he  took  that  occa- 
sion to  arrange  his  papers,  post  up  his  accounts,  or  write  letters  ; 
passing  part  of  his  time  in  reading,  and  occasionally  reading 
aloud  to  the  family. 

He  treated  his  negroes  with  kindness ;  attended  to  their 
.comforts ;  was  particularly  careful  of  them  in  sickness  ;  but 
never  tolerated  idleness,  and  exacted  a  faithful  performance  of 
all  their  allotted  tasks.  He  had  a  quick  eye  at  calculating  each 
man's  capabilities.  An  entry  in  his  diary  gives  a  curious  in- 
stance of  this.  Four  of  his  negroes,  employed  as  carpenters, 
were  hewing  and  shaping  timber.  It  appeared  to  him,  in  notic- 
ing the  amount  of  work  accomplished  between  two  succeeding 
mornings,  that  they  loitered  at  their  labor.  Sitting  down 
quietly  he  timed  their  operations  ;  how  long  it  took  them  to  get 
their  cross-cut  saw  and  other  implements  ready ;  how  long  to 
clear  away  the  branches  from  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree  ;  how 
long  to  hew  and  saw  it ;  what  time  was  expended  in  considering 
and  consulting,  and  after  all,  how  much  work  was  effected  dur- 
ing the  time  he  looked  on.  From  this  he  made  his  computation 
how  much  they  could  execute  in  the  course  of  a  day,  working 
entirely  at  their  ease. 

At  another  time  we  find  him  working  for  a  part  of  two 
days  with  Peter,  his  smith,  to  make  a  plough  on  a  new  inven- 
tion of  his  own.  This  after  two  or  three  failures,  he  accom- 
plished. Then,  when  less  then  his  usual  judgment,  he  put  his 
two  chariot  horses  to  the  plough,  and  ran  a  great  risk  of  spoil- 
ing them,  in  giving  his  new  invention  a  trial  over  ground 
thickly  swarded. 

Anon,  during  a  thunderstorm,  a  frightened  negro  alarms  the 
house  with  word  that  the  mill  is  giving  way,  upon  which  there 
is  a  general  turn-out  of  all  the  forces,  with  Washington  at  their 
head,  wheeling  and  shoveling  gravel,  during  a  pelting  rain,  to 
check  the  rushing  water. 

Washington  delighted  in  the  chase.  In  the  hunting  season, 
when  he  rode  out  early  in  the  morning  to  visit  distant  parts  of 
the  estate,  where  work  was  going  on,  he  often  took  some  of  the 


194  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

dogs  with  him  for  the  chance  of  starting  a  fox,  which  he  oc- 
casionally did,  though  he  was  not  always  successful  in  killing 
him.  He  was  a  bold  rider  and  an  admirable  horseman,  though 
he  never  claimed  the  merit  of  being  an  accomplished  fox-hunter. 
In  the  height  of  the  season,  however,  he  would  be  out  with  the 
foxhounds  two  or  three  times  a  week,  accompanied  by  his 
guests  at  Mount  Vernon  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, especially  the  Fairfaxes  of  Belvoir,  of  which  estate  his 
friend  George  William  Fairfax  was  now  the  proprietor.  On 
such  occasions  there  would  be  a  hunting  dinner  at  one  or  other 
of  those  establishments,  at  which  convivial  repasts  Washington 
is  said  to  have  enjoyed  himself  with  unwonted  hilarity. 

Now  and  then  his  old  friend  and  instructor  in  the  noble  art 
of  venery.  Lord  Fairfax,  would  be  on  a  visit  to  his  relatives  at 
Belvoir,  and  then  the  hunting  was  kept  up  with  unusual  spirit.* 

His  lordship,  however,  since  the  alarms  of  Indian  war  had 
ceased,  lived  almost  entirely  at  Greenway  Court,  where  Wash- 
ington was  occasionally  a  guest,  when  called  by  public  business 
to  Winchester.  Lord  Fairfax  had  made  himself  a  favorite 
throughout  the  neighborhood.  As  lord-lieutenant  and  custos 
rotulorum  of  Frederick  County,  he  presided  at  county  courts 
held  at  Winchester,  where,  during  the  sessions,  he  kept  open 
table.  He  acted  also  as  surveyor  and  overseer  of  the  public 
roads  and  highways,  and  was  unremitting  in  his  exertions  and 
plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  country.  Hunting,  however, 
was  his  passion.  When  the  sport  was  poor  near  home,  he 
would  take  his  hounds  to  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  establish 
himself  at  an  inn,  and  keep  open  house  and  open  table  to  every 
person  of  good  character  and  respectable  appearance  who  chose 
to  join  him  in  following  the  hounds. 

It  was  probably  in  quest  of  sport  of  the  kind  that  he  now 
and  then,  in  the  hunting  season,  revisited  his  old  haunts  and 
former  companions  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  and  then  the 
beautiful  woodland  region  about  Belvoir  and  Mount  Vernon 
was  sure  to  ring  at  early  morn  with  the  inspiring  music  of  the 
hound. 

The  waters  of  the  Potomac  also  afforded  occasional   amuse- 

*  Hunting  memoranda  from  Washington's  journal,  Mount  Vernon  : — 

NoVo  22. — Hunting  with  Lord  Fairfax  and  his  brother,  and  Colonel 
Fairfax. 

NoVo  25. — Mr.  Bryan  Fairfax,  Mr.  Grayson,  and  Phil.  Alexander  came 
here  by  sunrise.  Hunted  and  catched  a  fox  with  these,  Lord  Fairfax, 
his  brother,  and  Col.  Fairfax — all  of  whom,  with  Mr.  Fairfax  and  Mr. 
Wilson  of  England,  dined  here.  26th  and  29th.— Hunted  again  with 
the  same  company. 

Dec.  5. — Fox-hunting  with  Lord  Fairfax  and  his  brother,  and  Colonel 
Fairfax.  Started  a  fox  and  lost  it.  Dined  at  Belvoir,  and  returned  in 
the  evening. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  195 

ment  in  fisliing  and  shooting.  The  fishing  was  sometimes  on 
a  grand  scale,  when  the  herrings  came  up  the  river  in  slioals, 
and  the  negroes  of  Mount  Vernon  were  marshaled  forth  to  draw 
the  seine,  which  was  generally  done  with  great  success.  Canvas- 
hack  ducks  abounded  at  the  proper  season,  and  the  shooting  of 
them  was  one  of  Washington's  favorite  recreations.  The  river 
border  of  his  domain,  however,  was  somewhat  subject  to  invasion. 
An  oysterman  once  anchored  his  craft  at  the  landing-place,  and 
disturbed  the  quiet  of  the  neighborhood  by  the  insolent  and 
disorderly  conduct  of  himself  and  crew.  It  took  a  campaign 
of  three  days  to  expel  these  invaders  from  the  premises. 

A  more  summary  course  was  pursued  with  another  interloper. 
This  was  a  vagabond  who  infested  the  creeks  and  inlets  which 
bordered  the  estate,  lurking  in  a  canoe  among  the  reeds  and 
bushes,  and  making  great  havoc  among  the  canvas-back  ducks. 
He  had  been  warned  off  repeatedly,  but  without  effect.  As 
Washington  was  one  day  riding  about  the  estate  he  heard  the 
report  of  a  'gun  from  the  margin  of  the  river.  Spurring  in 
that  direction  he  dashed  through  the  bushes  and  came  upon  the 
culprit  just  as  he  was  pushing  his  canoe  from  shore.  The  latter 
raised  his  gun  with  a  menacing  look ;  but  Washington  rode 
into  the  stream,  seized  the  painter  of  the  canoe,  drew  it  to 
shore,  sprang  from  his  horse,  wrested  the  gun  from  the  hands 
of  the  astonished  delinquent,  and  inflicted  on  him  a  lesson  in 
"  lynch  law  "  that  effectually  cured  him  of  all  inclination  to 
trespass  again  on  these  forbidden  shores. 

The  Potomac,  in  the  palmy  days  of  Virginia,  was  occasionally 
the  scene  of  a  little  aquatic  state  and  ostentation  among  the 
rich  planters  who  resided  on  its  banks.  They  had  beautiful 
barges,  which,  like  their  land  equipages,  were  imported  from 
England ;  and  mention  is  made  of  a  Mr.  Digges  who  always 
received  Washington  in  his  barge,  rowed  by  six  negroes,  ar- 
rayed in  a  kind  of  uniform  of  check  shirts  and  black  velvet 
caps.  At  one  time,  according  to  notes  in  Washington's  diary, 
the  whole  neighborhood  is  thrown  into  a  paroxysm  of  festivity, 
by  the  anchoring  of  a  British  frigate  (the  JBoston)  in  the  river, 
just  in  front  of  the  hospitable  mansion  of  the  Fairfaxes.  A 
succession  of  dinners  and  breakfasts  takes  place  at  Mount 
Vernon  and  Belvoir,  with  occasional  tea  parties  on  board  of  the 
frigate.  The  commander,  Sir  Thomas  Adams,  his  officers,  and 
his  midshipmen,  are  cherished  guests,  and  have  the  freedom  of 
both  establishments. 

Occasionally  he  and  Mrs.  Washington  would  pay  a  visit  to 
Annapolis,  at  that  time  seat  of  government  of  Maryland,  and 
partake  of  the  gayeties  which  prevailed  during  the  session  of 


196  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  m 

the  legislature.  The  society  of  these  seats  of  provincial  govern- 
ment was  always  polite  and  fashionable,  and  more  exclusive 
than  in  these  republican  days,  being,  in  a  manner,  the  outposts 
of  the  English  aristocracy,  where  all  places  of  dignity  or  profit 
were  secured  for  younger  sons,  and  poor,  but  proud  relatives. 
During  the  session  of  the  legislature,  dinners  and  balls  abounded, 
and  there  were  occasional  attempts  at  theatricals.  The  latter 
was  an  amusement  for  which  Washington  always  had  a  relish, 
though  he  never  had  an  opportunity  of  gratifying  it  effectually. 
Neither  was  he  disinclined  to  mingle  in  the  dance,  and  we 
remember  to  have  heard  venerable  ladies,  who  had  been  belles 
in  his  day,  pride  themselves  on  having  had  him  for  a  partner, 
though,  they  added,  he  was  apt  to  be  a  ceremonious  and  grave 
one.* 

In  this  round  of  rural  occupation,  rural  amusements,  and 
social  intercourse,  Washington  passed  several  tranquil  years, 
the  halcyon  season  of  his  life.  His  already  established  repu- 
tation drew  many  visitors  to  Mount  Vernon ;  «ome  of  his 
early  companions  in  arms  were  his  occasional  guests,  and  his 
friendships  and  connections  linked  him  with  some  of  the  most 
prominent  and  worthy  people  of  the  country,  who  were  sure  to 
be  received  with  cordial,  but  simple  and  unpretending  hos- 
pitality. His  marriage  was  unblessed  with  children ;  but  those 
of  Mrs.  Washington  experienced  from  him  parental  care  and 
affection,  and  the  formation  of  their  minds  and  manners  was 
one  of  the  dearest  objects  of  his  attention.  His  domestic  con- 
cerns and  social  enjoyments,  however,  were  not  permitted  to 
interfere  with  his  public  duties."  He  was  active  by  nature,  and 
eminently  a  man  of  business  by  habit.  As  judge  of  the  county 
court,  and  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  he  had  numer- 
ous calls  upon  his  time  and  thoughts,  and  was  often  drawn  from 
home ;  for  whatever  trust  he  undertook,  he  was  sure  to  fulfill 
with  scrupulous  exactness. 

About  this  time  we  find  him  engaged  with  other  men  of 
enterprise,  in  a  project  to  drain  the  great  Dismal  Swamp,  and 
render  it  capable  of  cultivation.     This  vast  morass  was  about 

*  We  have  had  an  amusing  picture  of  Annapolis,  as  it  was  at  this 
period,  furnished  to  us,  some  years  since,  by  an  octogenarian  who  had 
resided  there  in  his  boyhood-  '^  In  those  parts  of  the  country,"  said  he, 
"  where  the  roads  were  too  rough  for  carriages,  the  ladies  used  to  ride 
on  ponies,  followed  by  black  servants  on  horseback  ;  *'  in  this  way  his 
mother,  then  advanced  in  life,  used  to  travel,  in  a  scarlet  cloth  riding- 
habit,  which  she  had  procured  from  England.  Nay,  in  this  way,  on 
emergencies,"  he  added,  "the  young  ladies  from  the  country  used  to 
come  to  the  balls  at  Annapolis,  riding  with  their  hoops  arranged  '  fore 
and  aft,  like  lateen  sails  ;  and  after  dancing  all  night,  would  ride  home 
again  in  the  morning." 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  197 

thirty  miles  long,  and  ten  miles  wide,  and  its  interior  but  little 
known.  With  his  usual  zeal  and  hardihood  he  explored  it  on 
horseback  and  on  foot.  In  many  parts  it  was  covered  with 
dark  and  gloomy  woods  of  cedar,  cypress,  and  hemlock,  or  de- 
ciduous trees,  the  branches  of  which  were  hung  with  long  droop- 
ing moss.  Other  parts  were  almost  inaccessible,  from  the 
density  of  brakes  and  thickets,  entangled  with  vines,  briers, 
and  creeping  plants,  and  intersected  by  creeks  and  standing 
pools.  Occasionally  the  soil  composed  of  dead  vegetable  fibre, 
was  over  his  horse's  fetlocks,  and  sometimes  he  had  to  dismount 
and  make  his  way  on  foot  over  a  quaking  bog.  that  shook  be- 
neath his  tread. 

In  the  centre  of  the  morass  he  came  to  a  great  piece  of  water, 
six  miles  long,  and  three  broad,  called  Drummond's  Pond,  but 
more  poetically  celebrated  as  the  Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp. 
It  was  more  elevated  than  any  other  part  of  the  swamp,  and 
capable  of  feeding  canals,  by  which  the  whole  might  be  trav- 
ersed. Having  made  the  circuit  of  it,  and  noted  all  its  char- 
acteristics, he  encamped  for  the  night  upon  the  firm  land  which 
bordered  it,  and  finished  his  explorations  on  the  following  day. 

In  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  the  asso- 
ciation in  behalf  of  which  he  had  acted,  was  chartered  under 
the  name  of  the  Dismal  Swamp  Company ;  and  to  his  observa- 
tions and  forecast  may  be  traced  the  subsequent  improvement 
and  prosperity  of  that  once  desolate  region. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

TREATY      OF      PEACE. PONTlAo's      WAR. COURSE    0.F    PUBLIC 

EVENTS. BOARD  OF  TRADE  AGAINST  PAPER  CURRENCY. RE- 
STRICTIVE POLICY  OF  ENGLAND. NAVIGATION  LAWS. DIS- 
CONTENTS IN    NEW   ENGLAND. OF    THE    OTHER    COLONIES. 

PROJECTS  TO    RAISE    REVENUE  BY  TAXATION. BLOW  AT  THE 

INDEPENDENCE    OF     THE     JUDICIARY. NAVAL  COMMANDERS 

EMPLOYED  AS    CUSTOM-HOUSE    OFFICERS. RETALIATION      OP 

THE  COLONISTS. TAXATION  RESISTED  IN  BOSTON. PASS- 
ING OF  THE  STAMP  ACT. BURST  OF  OPPOSITION  IN  VIR- 
GINIA.  SPEECH    OF    PATRICK    HENRY. 

Tidings  of  peace  gladdened  the  colonies  in  the  spring  of  1763. 
The  definitive  treaty  between  England  and  Erance  had  been 
signed  at  Eontainebleau.  Now,  it  was  trusted,  there  would  be 
fin  end  to  those  horrid  ravages  that  had  desolated  the  interior 


198  LIFE  OF  WASRIJSrGTON. 

of  the  country.  ^^The  desert  and 'the  silent  place  would  rejoice, 
and  the  wilderness  would  blossom  like  the  rose." 

The  month  of  May  proved  the  fallacy  of  such  hopes.  In 
that  month  the  famous  insurrection  of  the  Indian  tribes  broke 
out,  which,  from  the  name  of  the  chief  who  was  its  prime  mover 
and  master  spirit,  is  commonly  called  Pontiac's  War.  The 
Delawares  and  Shawnees,  and  other  of  those  emigrant  tribes  of 
the  Ohio,  among  whom  Washington  had  mingled,  were  foremost 
in  this  conspiracy.  Some  of  the  chiefs  who  had  been  his  allies, 
had  now  taken  up  the  hatchet  against  the  English.  The  plot 
was  deep  laid,  and  conducted  with  Indian  craft  and  secrecy. 
At  a  concerted  time  an  attack  was  made  upon  all  the  posts 
from  Detroit  to  Fort  Pitt  (late  Port  Duquesne).  Several  of 
the  small  stockaded  forts,  the  places  of  refuge  of  woodland 
neighborhoods,  were  surprised  and  sacked  with  remorseless 
butchery.  The  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia were  laid  waste ;  traders  in  the  wilderness  were  plundered 
and  slain ;  hamlets  and  farm-houses  were  wrapped  in  flames, 
and  their  inhabitants  massacred.  Shingiss,  with  his  Delaware 
warriors  blockaded  Port  Pitt,  which,  for  some  time,  was  in 
imminent  danger.  Detroit,  also,  came  near  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  savages.  It  needed  all  the  influence  of  Sir 
William  Johnson,  that  potentate  in  savage  life,  to  keep  the 
Six  Nations  from  joining  this  formidable  conspiracy;  had  they 
done  so,  the  triumph  of  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  would 
have  been  complete ;  as  it  was,  a  considerable  time  elapsed  be- 
fore the  frontier  was  restored  to  tolerable  tranquillity. 

Fortunately,  Washington's  retirement  from  the  army  prevent- 
ed his  being  entangled  in  this  savage  war,  which  raged  through- 
out the  regions  he  had  repeatedly  visited  ;  or  rather  his  active 
spirit  had  been  diverted  into  a  more  peaceful  channel,  for  he 
was  at  this  time  occupied  in  the  enterprise  just  noticed,  for 
draining  the  great  Dismal  Swamp. 

Public  events  were  now  taking  a  tendency  which,  without 
any  political  aspiration  or  forethought  of  his  own,  was  destined 
gradually  to  bear  him  away  from  his  quiet  home  and  individual 
pursuits,  and  launch  him  upon  a  grander  and  wider  sphere  of 
action  than  any  in  which  he  had  hitherto  been  engaged. 

The  prediction  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes  was  in  the  process 
of  fulfillment.  The  recent  war  of  Great  Britain  for  dominion 
in  America,  though  crowned  with  success,  had  engendered  a 
a  progeny  of  discontents  in  her  colonies,  Washington  was 
among  the  first  to  perceive  its  bitter  fruits.  British  merchants 
had  complained  loudly  of  losses  sustained  by  the  depreciation 
of  the  colonial  paper,  ■  issued  during  the  late  war,  in  times  of 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  199 

emergency,  and  had  addressed  a  memorial  on  the  subject  to 
the  Board  of  Trade.  Scarce  was  peace  concluded,  when  an 
order  from  the  board  declared  that  no  paper,  issued  by  colonial 
assemblies,  should  thenceforward  be  a  legal  tender  in  the  pay- 
ment of  debts.  Washington  deprecated  this  "  stir  of  the  mer- 
chants "  as  peculiarly  ill-timed ;  and  expressed  an  apprehension 
that  the  orders  in  question  "  would  set  the  whole  country  in 
flames." 

We  do  not  profess,  in  this  personal  memoir,  to  enter  into  a 
wide  scope  of  general  history,  but  shall  content  ourselves  with 
a  glance  at  the  circumstances  and  events  which  gradually 
kindled  the  conflagration  thus  apprehended  by  the  anxious  mind 
of  Washington. 

Whatever  might  be  the  natural  affection  of  the  colonies  for 
the  mother  country, — and  there  are  abundant  evidences  to  prove 
that  it  was  deep-rooted  and  strong, — it  had  never  been  properly 
reciprocated.  They  yearned  to  be  considered  as  children ;  they 
were  treated  by  her  as  changelings.  Burke  testifies  that  her 
policy  toward  them  from  the  beginning  had  been  purely  com- 
mercial, and  her  commercial  policy  wholly  restrictive.  It  was 
the  system  of  a  monopoly." 

Her  navigation  laws  had  shut  their  ports  against  foreign 
vessels ;  obliged  them  to  export  their  productions  only  to  coun- 
tries belonging  to  the  British  crown  ;  to  import  European  goods 
solely  from  England,  and  in  English  ships  ;  and  had  subjected 
the  trade  between  the  colonies  to  duties.  All  manufactures, 
too,  in  the  colonies  that  might  interfere  with  those  of  the  mother 
country  had  been  either  totally  prohibited,  or  subjected  to  in- 
tolerable restraints. 

The  acts  of  Parliament,  imposing  these  prohibitions  and  re- 
strictions, had  at  various  times  produced  sore  discontent  and 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  colonies,  especially  among  those 
of  New  England.  The  interests  of  these  last  were  chiefly  com- 
mercial, and  among  them  the  republican  spirit  predominated. 
They  had  sprung  into  existence  during  that  part  of  the  reign  of 
James  I.  when  disputes  ran  high  about  kingly  prerogatives  and 
popular  privilege. 

The  Pilgrims,  as  they  styled  themselves,  who  founded  Ply- 
mouth colony  in  1620,  had  been  incensed  while  in  England  by 
what  they  stigmatized  as  the  oppressions  of  the  monarchy,  and 
the  Established  Church.  They  had  sought  the  wilds  of  America 
for  the  indulgence  of  freedom  of  opinion,  and  had  brought  with 
them  the  spirit  of  independence  and  self-government.  Those 
who  followed  them  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  were  imbued  with 
the  same  spirit,  and  gave  a  lasting  character  to  the  people  of 
New  England. 


200  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Other  colonies,  having  been  formed  under  other  circumstances, 
might  be  inclined  toward  a  monarchical  government,  and  dis- 
posed to  acquiesce  in  its  exactions  ;  but  the  republican  spirit 
was  ever  alive  in  New  England,  watching  over  "  natural  and 
chartered  rights,'^  and  prompt  to  defend  them  against  any  in- 
fringement. Its  example  and  instigation  had  gradually  an  ef- 
fect on  tlire  other  colonies  ;  a  general  impatience  was  evinced 
irom  time  to  time  of  parliamentary  interference  in  colonial  af- 
fairs, and  a  disposition  in  the  various  provincial  legisl  atures  to 
think  and  act  for  themslves  in  matters  of  civil  and  religious,  as 
well  as  commercial  polity. 

There  was  nothing,  however,  to  which  the  jealous  sensibilities 
of  the  colonies  were  more  alive  than  to  any  attempt  of  the 
mother  country  to  draw  a  revenue  from  them  by  taxation. 
From  the  earliest  period  of  their  existence,  they  had  maintained 
the  principle  that  they  cculd  only  be  taxed  by  a  legislature  in 
which  they  were  represented.  Sir  E-obert  Walpole,  when  at 
the  head  of  the  British  Grovernment,  was  aware  of  their  jealous 
sensibility  on  tliis  point,  and  cautious  of  provoking  it.  When 
American  taxation  was  suggested,  "  it  must  be  a  bolder  man 
than  himself,"  he  replied,  "  and  one  less  friendly  to  commence, 
who  should  venture  on  such  an  expedient.  For  his  part,  he 
would  encourage  the  trade  of  the  colonies  to  the  utmost ;  one 
half  of  the  profits  would  be  sure  to  come  into  the  royal  ex- 
chequer through  the  increased  demand  for  British  manufactures. 
This/'  said  he  sagaciously,  "  is  taxing  them  more  agreeably  to 
their  own  constitution  and  laios.''^ 

Subsequent  ministers  adopted  a  widely  different  policy. 
During  the  progress  of  the  French  war,  various  projects  were 
discussed  in  England  with  regard  to  the  colonies,  which  were 
to  be  carried  into  effect  on  the  return  of  peace.  The  open 
avowal  of  some  of  these,  plans  and  vague  rumors  of  others,  more 
than  ever  irritated  the  jealous  feelings  of  the  colonists,  and  put 
the  dragon  spirit  of  New  England  on  the  alert. 

In  1760,  there  was  an  attempt  in  Boston  to  collect  duties  on 
foreign  sugar  and  molasses  imported  into  the  colonies.  Writs 
of  assistance  were  applied  for  by  the  custom-house  officers, 
authorizing  them  to  break  open  ships,  stores,  and  private 
dwellings,  in  quest  of  articles  that  had  paid  no  duty  ;  and  to 
call  the  assistance  of  others  in  the  discharge  of  their  odious 
task.  The  merchants  opposed  the  execution  of  the  writ  on 
constitutional  grounds.  The  question  was  argued  in  court, 
where  James  Otis  spoke  so  eloquently  in  vindication  of  American 
rights,  that  all  his  hearers  went  away  ready  to  take  arms  against 
writs  of  assistance.     "  Then  and  there,"  says  John  Adams,  who 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  201 

was  present,  "  was  the  first  scene  of  opposition  to  the  arbitrary 
claims  of  Great  Britain.  Then  and  there  American  Indepen- 
dence was  born." 

Another  ministerial  measure  was  to  instruct  the  provincial 
governors  to  commission  judges,  not  as  theretofore  "  during 
good  behavior,"  but  "  during  the  king's  pleasure."  New  York 
was  the  first  to  resent  this  blow  at  the  independence  of  the 
judiciary.  The  lawyers  appealed  to  the  public  through  the 
press  against  an  act  which  subjected  the  halls  of  justice  to  the 
prerogative.  Their  appeals  were  felt  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
province,  and  awakened  a  general  spirit  of  resistance. 

Thus  matters  stood  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war.  One  of  the 
first  measures  of  ministers,  on  the  return  of  peace,  was  to  en- 
join on  all  naval  officers  stationed  on  the  coasts  of  the  American 
colonies  the  performance,  under  oath,  of  the  duties  of  custom- 
house officers,  for  the  suppression  of  smuggling.  This  fell 
ruinously  upon  a  clandestine  trade  which  had  long  been  con- 
nived at  between  the  English  and  Spanish  colonies,  profitable 
to  both,  but  especially  to  the  former,  and  beneficial  to  the 
mother  country,  opening  a  market  to  her  manufactures. 

"Men-of-war,"  says  Burke,  ^^were  for  the  first  time  armed 
with  the  regular  commissions  of  custom-house  officers,  invested 
the  coasts,  and  gave  the  collection  of  revenue  the  air  of  hosile 

contribution They  fell  so  indiscriminately  on  all  sorts 

of  contraband,  or  supposed  contraband,  that  some  of  the  most 
valuable  branches  of  trade  were  driven  violently  from  our 
ports,  which  caused  an  universal  consternation  throughout 
the  colonies."* 

As  a  measure  of  retaliation,  the  colonists  resolved  not  to 
purchase  British  fabrics,  but  to  clothe  themselves  as  much  as 
possible  in  home  manufactures.  The  demand  for  British  goods 
in  Boston  alone  was  diminished  upwards  of  £10,000  sterling  in 
the  course  of  a  year. 

In  1764,  George  Grenville,  now  at  the  head  of  government, 
ventured  upon  the  policy  from  which  Walpole  had  so  wisely 
abstained.  Early  in  March  the  eventful  CiUestion  was  debated, 
"  whether  they  had  a  right  to  tax  America."  It  was  decided 
in  the  affirmative.  Next  followed  a  resolution,  declaring  it 
proper  to  charge  certain  stamp  duties  in  the  colonies  and  plan- 
tations, but  no  immediate  step  was  taken  to  carry  it  into  effect. 
Mr.  Grenville,  however,  gave  notice  to  the  American  agents  in 
London,  that  he  should  introduce  such  a  measure  on  the  ensu- 
ing session  of  Parliament.  In  the  meantime  Parliament  per- 
petuated certain  duties  on  sugar  and  molasses- — heretofore  sub- 
*  Burke  on  the  State  of  the  I^ation. 


202  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

jects  of  complaint  and  opposition — now  reduced  and  modified  so 
as  to  discourage  smuggling,  and  thereby  to  render  them  more 
productive.  Duties,  also,  were  imposed  on  other  articles  of 
foreign  produce  or  manufacture  imported  into  the  colonies. 
To  reconcile  the  latter  to  these  impositions,  it  was  stated  that 
the  revenue  thus  raised  was  to  be  appropriated  to  their  protection 
and  security ;  in  other  words,  to  the  support  of  a  standing 
army,  intended  to  be  quartered  upon  them. 

We  have  here  briefly  stated  but  a  part  of  what  Burke  terms 
an  "  infinite  variety  of  paper  chains,''  extending  through  no 
less  than  twenty-nine  acts  of  Parliament,  from  1660  to  1764, 
by  which  the  colonies  had  been  held  in  thraldom. 

The  New  Englanders  were  the  first  to  take  the  field  against 
the  project  of  taxation.  They  denounced  it  as  a  violation  of 
their  rights  as  freemen ;  of  their  chartered  rights,  by  which 
they  were  to  tax  themselves  for  their  support  and  defense  ;  of 
their  rights  as  British  subjects,  who  ought  not  to  be  taxed  but 
by  themselves  or  their  representatives.  They  sent  petitions 
and  remonstrances  on  the  subject  to  the  king,  the  lords,  and 
the  commons,  in  which  they  were  seconded  by  New  York  and 
Virginia.  Franklin  appeared  in  London  at  the  head  of  agents 
from  Pennsylvania,  Connecticut  and  South  Carolina,  to  depre- 
cate, in  person,  measures  so  fraught  with  mischief.  The  most 
eloquent  arguments  were  used  by  British  orators  and  statesmen 
to  dissuade  Grenville  from  enforcing  them.  He  was  warned  of 
the  sturdy  independence  of  the  colonists  and  the  spirit  of  re- 
sistance he  might  provoke.  All  was  in  vain.  Grenville,  ^^  great 
in  daring  and  little  in  views"  says  Horace  Walpole,  '^  was  charm- 
ed to  have  an  untrodden  field  before  him  of  calculation  and  ex- 
periment." In  March,  1765,  the  act  was  passed,  according  to 
which  all  instruments  in  writing  were  to  be  executed  on  stamp- 
ed paper,  to  be  purchased  from  the  agents  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment. What  was  more:  all  offenses  against  the  act  could 
be  tried  in  any  royal,  marine,  or  admiralty  court  throughout  the 
colonies,  however  distant  from  the  place  where  the  offense  had 
been  committed  ;  thus  interfering  with  that  most  inestimable 
right,  a  trial  by  jury. 

It  was  an  ominous  sign  that  the  first  burst  of  opposition  to 
this  act  should  take  place  in  Virginia.  That  colony  had  hither- 
to been  slow  to  accord  with  the  republican  spirit  of  New  Eng- 
land. Founded  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  reign  of  James  I., 
before  kingly  prerogative  and  ecclesiastical  supremacy  had  been 
made  matters  of  doubt  and  fierce  dispute,  it  had  grown  up  in 
loyal  attachment  to  king,  church,  and  constitution  j  was  aristo- 
cratical  in  its  tastes  and  habits,  and  had  been  remarked  above 


LTFJS  OF  WASHINGTON.  203 

all  the  other  colonies  for  its  sympathies  with  the  mother  coun- 
try. Moreover,  it  had  not  so  many  pecuniary  interests  involv- 
ed in  these  questions  as  had  the  people  of  New  England,  being 
an  agricultural  rather  than  a  commercial  province ;  but  the 
Virginians  are  of  a  quick  and  generous  spirit,  readily  aroused 
on  all  points  of  honorable  pride,  and  they  resented  the  stamp 
act  as  an  outrage  on  their  rights. 

Washington  occupied  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
when,  on  the  29th  of  May,  the  stamp  act  became  a  subject  of 
discussion.  We  have  seen  no  previous  opinions  of  his  on  the 
subject.  His  correspondence  hitherto  had  not  turned  on  politi- 
cal or  speculative  themps  ;  being  engrossed  by  either  military 
or  agricultural  matters,  and  evincing  little  anticipation  of  the 
vortex  of  public  duties  into  which  he  was  about  to  be  drawn. 
All  his  previous  conduct  and  writings  show  a  loyal  devotion 
to  the  crown,  with  a  patriotic  attachment  to  his  country. 
It  is  probable  that  on  the  present  occasion  that  latent  patriot- 
ism received  its  first  electric  shock. 

Among  the  burgesses  sat  Patrick  Henry,  a  young  lawyer  who 
had  recently  distinguished  himself  by  pleading  against  the 
exercise  of  the  royal  prerogative  in  church  matters,  and  who 
was  now  for  the  first  time  a  member  of  the  House.  Rising  in 
his  place,  he  introduced  his  celebrated  resolutions,  declaring 
that  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  had  the  exclusive  right 
and  power  to  lay  taxes  and  impositions  upon  the  inhabitants, 
and  that  whoever  maintained  the  contrary  should  be  deemed 
an  enemy  to  the  colony. 

The  Speaker,  Mr.  Kobinson,  objected  to  the  resolutions,  as 
inflammatory.  Henry  vindicated  them,  as  justified  by  the  nat- 
ture  of  the  case  ;  went  into  an  able  and  constitutional  discus^ 
sionof  colonial  rights,  and  an  eloquent  exposition  of  the  manner 
in  which  they  had  been  assailed ;  wound  up  by  one  of  those 
daring  flights  of  declamation  for  which  he  was  remarkable,  and 
startled  the  House  by  a  warning  flash  from  history :  "Csesar 
had  his  Brutus,  Charles  his  Cromwell,  and  George  the  Third — 
Q  Treason  !  treason  !  ^  resounded  from  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Chair) — may  profit  by  their  examples,"  added  Henry.  "  Sir,  if 
this  be  treason  (bowing  to  the  Speaker),  make  the  most  of  it !  ^' 
The  resolutions  were  modified,  to  accommodate  them  to  the 
scruples  of  the  Speaker  and  some  of  the  members,  but  their 
spirit  was  retained.  The  Lieutenant-governor  (Fauquier), 
startled  by  this  patriotic  outbreak,  dissolved  the  Assembly  and 
issued  writs  for  a  new  election  ;  but  the  clarion  had  sounded. 
"  The  resolves  of  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,"  says  a  correspon- 
dent of  the  ministry,  "  gave  the  signal  for  a  general  outcry 


204  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

over  the  continent.     Tlie  movers  and  supporters  of  them  were 
applauded  as  the  protectors  and  asserters  of  American  liberty/'  * 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

"Washington's  ideas  concerning  the  stamp  act. — opposi- 
tion TO  IT  IN  THE  COLONIES. PORTENTOUS  CEREMONIES  AT 

BOSTON    AND    NEW    YORK. NON-IMPORTATION     AGREEMENT 

AMONG  THE  MERCHANTS. — WASHINGTON  AND  GEORGE  MASON. 

DISMISSAL  OF  GRENVILLE    FROM  THE  BRITISH    CABINET. 

FRANKLIN    BEFORE    THE    HOUSE    OF    COMMONS. REPEAL  OP 

THE  STAMP  ACT. JOY    OF  WASHINGTON. — FRESH  CAUSES  OF 

COLONIAL  DISSENSIONS.^ — CIRCULAR  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURT 
OF  MASSACHUSETTS. EMBARKATION  OF  TROOPS  FOR  BOS- 
TON.— MEASURES  OF  THE  BOSTONIANS. 

Washington  returned  to  Mount  Vernon  full  of  anxious 
thoughts  inspired  by  the  political  events  of  the  day,  and  the 
legislative  scene  which  he  witnessed.  Hip  recent  letters  had 
spoken  of  the  state  of  peaceful  tranquillity  in  which  he  was 
living ;  those  now  written  from  his  rural  home  show  that  he 
fully  participated  in  the  popular  feeling,  and  that  while  he  had 
a  presentiment  of  an  arduous  struggle,  his  patriotic  mind  was 
revolving  means  of  coping  with  it.  Such  is  the  tenor  of  a 
letter  written  to  his  wife's  uncle,  Francis  Dandridge,  then  in 
London.  "  The  stamp  act,"  said  he,  "  engrosses  the  conversa- 
tion of  the  speculative  part  of  the  colonists,  who  look  upon 
this  unconstitutional  method  of  taxation  as  a  direful  attack 
upon  their  liberties,  and  loudly  exclaim  against  the  violation. 
What  may  be  the  result  of  this,  and  of  some  other  (I  think  I 
may  add  ill-judged)  measures,  I  will  not  undertake  to  deter- 
mine ;  but  this  I  may  venture  to  affirm,  that  the  advantage 
accruing  to  the  mother  country  will  fall  greatly  short  of  the 
expectation  of  the  ministry  ;  for  certain  it  is,  that  our  whole 
substance  already  in  a  manner  flows  to  Great  Britain,  and  that 
whatsoever  contributes  to  lessen  our  importations  must  be 
hurtful  to  her  manufactures.  The  eyes  of  our  people  already 
begin  to  be  opened  ;  and  they  will  perceive  that  many  luxuries, 
for  which  we  lavish  our  substance  in  Great  Britain,  can  well 
be  dispensed  with.  This,  consequently,  will  introduce  frugal- 
ity,   and   be  a   necessary   incitement  to   industry 

*  Letter  to  Secretary  Conway,  New  York,  Sept.  23.    Parliamentary 
Begister. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  ^05 

As  to  the  stamp  act,  regarded  in  a  single  view,  one  of  tlie  first 
bad  consequences  attending  it,  is,  that  our  co'urts  of  judicature 
must  inevitably  be  shut  up ;  for  it  is  impossible,  or  next  to  im- 
possible, under  our  present  circumstances,  that  the  act  of 
Parliament  can  be  complied  with,  were  we  ever  so  willing  to 
enforce  its  execution.  And  not  to  say  (which  alone  would  be 
sufficient)  that  we  have  not  money  enough  to  pay  for  the 
stamps,  there  are  many  other  cogent  reasons  which  prove  that 
it  would  be  ineffectual.'^ 

A  letter  of  the  same  date  to  his  agents  in  London,  of  ample 
length  and  minute  in  its  details,  shows  that,  while  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  course  of  public  affairs,  his  practical  mind  was 
enabled  thoroughly  and  ably  to  manage  the  financial  concerns 
of  his  estate  and  of  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Washington's  son,  John 
Parke  Curtis,  towards  whom  he  acted  the  part  of  a  faithful 
and  affectionate  guardian.  In  those  days,  Virginia  planters 
were  still  in  direct  and  frequent  correspondence  with  their 
London  factors  ;  and  Washington's  letters  respecting  his  ship- 
ments of  tobacco,  and  the  returns  required  in  various  articles 
for  household  and  personal  use,  are  perfect  models  for  a  man 
of  business.  And  this  may  be  remarlved  throughout  his  whole 
career,  that  no  pressure  of  events  nor  multiplicity  of  cares 
prevented  a  clear,  steadfast,  under-current  of  attention  to 
domestic  affairs  and  the  interest  and  well-being  of  all  depend- 
ent upon  him. 

In  the  meantime,  from  his  quiet  abode  at  Mount  Vernon,  he 
seemed  to  hear  the  patriotic  voice  of  Patrick  Henry,  which  had 
startled  the  House  of  Burgesses,  echoing  throughout  the  land, 
and  rousing  one  legislative  body  after  another  to  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  that  of  Virginia.  At  the  instigi^tion  of  the  General 
Court  or  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  a  Congress  was  held  in 
New  York  in  October,  composed  of  delegates  from  Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  South  Carolina.  In 
this  they  denounced  the  acts  of  Parliament  imposing  taxes 
on  them  without  their  consent,  and  extending  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  courts  of  admiralty,  as  violations  of  their  rights  and 
liberties  as  natural-born  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and  pre- 
pared an  address  to  the  king  and  a  petition  to  both  Houses 
of  Parliament,  praying  for  redress.  Similar  petitions  were 
forwarded  to  England  by  the  colonies  not  represented  in  the 
Congress. 

The  very  preparations  for  enforcing  the  stamp  act  called 
forth  popular  tumults  in  various  places.  In  Boston  the  stamp 
distributer  was  hanged  in  Q^^j,  his  windows  were  broken  j  a 


206  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

house  intended  for  a  stamp  office  was  pulled  down,  and  the 
effigy  burnt  in  a  bonfire  nicide  of  the  fragments.  The  lieuten- 
ant-governor, chief-justice,  and  sheriff,  attempting  to  allay  the 
tumult,  were  pelted.  The  stamp  officer  thought  himself  happy 
to  be  hanged  merely  in  Q^^j,  and  next  day  publicly  renounced 
the  perilous  office. 

Various  were  the  proceedings  in  other  places,  all  manifest- 
ing public  scorn  and  defiance  of  the  act.  In  Virginia,  Mr. 
George  Mercer  had  been  appointed  distributer  of  stamps,  but 
on  his  arrival  at  Williamsburg  publicly  declined  officiating. 
It  was  a  fresh  triumph  to  the  popular  cause.  The  bells  were 
rung  for  joy  ;  the  town  was  illuminated,  and  Mercer  was  hailed 
with  acclamations  of  the  people.* 

The  1st  of  November,  the  day  when  the  act  was  to  go  into 
operation,  was  ushered  in  with  portentous  solemnities.  There 
was  great  tolling  of  bells  and  burning  of  effigies  in  the  New 
England  colonies.  At  Boston  the  ships  displayed  their  colors, 
but  half-mast  high.  Many  shops  were  shut ;  funeral  knells 
resounded  from  the  steeples,  and  there  was  a  grand  auto-da-fe, 
in  which  the  promoters  of  the  act  were  paraded,  and  suffered 
martyrdom  in  Q^^j. 

At  New  York  the  printed  act  was  carried  about  the  streets 
on  a  pole,  surmounted  by  a  death's  head,  with  a  scroll  bearing 
the  inscription,  "  The  folly  of  England  and  ruin  of  America." 
Colden,  the  lieutenant-governor,  who  acquired  considerable 
odium  by  recommending  to  government  the  taxation  of  the 
colonies,  the  institution  of  hereditary  Assemblies,  and  other 
Tory  measures,  seeing  that  a  popular  storm  was  rising,  retired 
into  the  fort,  taking  with  him  the  stamp  papers,  and  garri- 
soned it  with  marines  from  a  ship  of  a  war.  The  mob  broke 
into  his  stable ;  drew  put  his  chariot,  put  his  effigy  into  it ; 
paraded  it  through  the  streets  to  the  common  (now  the  Park), 
where  they  hung  it  on  a  gallows.  In  the  evening  it  was  taken 
down,  put  again  into  the  chariot,  with  the  devil  for  a  com- 
panion, and  escorted  back  by  torchlight  to  the  Bowling  Green  ; 
where  the  whole  pageant,  chariot  and  all,  was  burnt  under  the 
very  guns  of  the  fort. 

These  are  specimens  of  the  marks  of  popular  reprobation 
with  which  the  stamp  act  was  universally  nullified.  No  one 
would  venture  to  carry  it  into  execution.  In  fact  no  stamped 
paper  was  to  be  seen ;  all  had  been  either  destroyed  or  con- 
cealed. All  transactions  which  required  stamps  to  give  them 
validity  were  suspended,  or  were  executed  by  private  compact. 
The    courts  of  justice  were  closed,  until  at  length   some  coU' 

vol.  ii.  p.  138. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  207 

ducted  their  business  without  stamps.  Union  was  becoming 
the  watchword.  The  merchants  of  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Boston,  and  such  other  colonies  as  had  ventured  publicly  to 
oppose  the  stamp  act,  agreed  to  import  no  more  British  manu- 
factures after  the  1st  of  January  unless  it  should  be  repealed. 
So  passed  away  the  year  1765, 

As  yet  Washington  took  no  prominent  part  in  the  public 
agitation.  Indeed  he  was  never  disposed  to  put  himself  for- 
ward on  popular  occasions,  his  innate  modesty  forbade  it ;  it 
was  others  who  knew  his  worth  that  called  him  forth  ;  but 
when  once  he  engaged  in  any  public  measure,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  it  with  conscientiousness  and  persevering  zeal.  At 
present  he  remained  a  quiet  but  vigilant  observer  of  events 
'from  his  eagle  nest  at  Mount  Vernon.  He  had  some  few  in- 
timates in  his  neighborhood  who  accorded  with  him  in  senti- 
ment. One  of  the  ablest  and  most  efficient  of  these  was  Mr. 
George  Mason,  with  whom  he  had  occasional  conversations  on 
the  state  of  affairs.  His  friends  the  Fairfaxes,  though  liberal 
in  feelings  and  opinions,  were  too  strong  in  their  devotion  to 
the  crown  not  to  regard  with  an  uneasy  eye  the  tendency  of  the 
popular  bias.  From  one  motive  or  other,  the  earnest  attention 
of  all  the  inmates  and  visitors  at  Mount  Vernon,  was  turned  to 
England,  watching  the  movements  of  the  ministry. 

The  dismissal  of  Mr.  Grenville  from  the  cabinet  gave  a 
temporary  change  to  public  alKairs.  Perhaps  nothing  had  a 
greater  effect  in  favor  of  the  colonies  than  an  examination  of 
T>T.  Franklin  before  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  subject  of 
the  stamp  act. 

^^  What,"  he  was  asked,  "  was  the  temper  of  America  towards 
Great  Britain,  before  the  year  1763  ?  " 

"  The  best  in  the  world.  They  submitted  willingly  to  the 
government  of  the  crown,  and  paid,  in  all  their  courts,  obedi- 
ence to  the  acts  of  Parliament.  Numerous  as  the  people  are 
in  the  several  old  provinces,  they  cost  you  nothing  in  forts, 
citadels,  garrisons,  or  armies,  to  keep  them  in  subjection.  They 
were  governed  by  this  country  at  the  expense  only  of  a  little 
pen,  and  ink,  and  paper.  They  were  led  by  a  thread.  They 
had  not  only  a  respect,  but  an  affection  for  Great  Britain,  for 
its  laws,  its  customs,  and  manners,  and  even  a  fondness  for  its 
fashions,  that  greatly  increased  the  commerce.  Natives  of 
Great  Britain  were  always  treated  with  particular  regard ;  to 
be  an  Old-England  man  was,  of  itself,  a  character  of  some  re- 
spect, and  gave  a  kind  of  rank  among  us." 

"  And  what  is  their  temper  now  ?  " 

"  0  !  very  much  altered." 


208  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

"  If  the  act  is  not  repealed,  what  do  you  think  will  be  the 
consequences  ?  " 

"A  total  loss  of  the  respect  and  affection  the  people  of 
America  bear  to  this  country,  and  of  all  the  commerce  that  de- 
pends on  that  respect  and  afiection." 

"  Do  you  think  the  people  of  America  would  submit  to  pay 
the  stamp  duty  if  it  was  moderated  ?  " 

"  No,  never,  unless  compelled  by  force  of  arms."  * 

The  act  was  repealed  on  the  18th  of  March,  1766,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  sincere  friends  of  both  countries,  and  to  no  one 
more  than  to  Washington.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  observes  : 
"  Had  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  resolved  upon  enforcing 
it,  the  consequences,  I  conceive,  would  have  been  more  direful 
than  is  generally  apprehended,  both  to  the  mother  country  and 
her  colonies.  All,  therefore,  who  were  instrumental  in  procur- 
ing the  repeal,  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  every  British  sub- 
ject, and  have  mine  cordially."  f 

Still  there  was  a  fatal  clause  in  the  repeal,  which  declared 
that  the  king,  with  the  consent  of  Parliament,  had  power 
and  authority  to  make  laws  and  statutes  of  sufficient  force  and 
validity  to  "  bind  the  colonies,  and  people  of  America,  in  all 
cases  whatsoever." 

As  the  people  of  America  were  contending  for  principles, 
not  mere  pecuniary  interests,  this  reserved  power  of  the  crown 
and  Parliament  left  the  dispute  still  open,  and  chilled  the  feel- 
ing of  gratitude  which  the  repeal  might  otherwise  have  in- 
spired. Further  aliment  for  public  discontent  was  furnished 
by  other  acts  of  Parliament.  One  imposed  duties  on  glass, 
pasteboard,  white  and  red  lead,  painters'  colors,  and  tea ;  the 
duties  to  he  collected  on  the  arrival  of  the  articles  in  the  col- 
onies ;  another  empowered  naval  officers  to  enforce  the  acts  of 
trade  and  navigation.  Another,  wounded  to  the  quick  the 
pride  and  sensibilities  of  New  York.  The  mutiny  act  had  re- 
cently been  extended  to  America,  with  an  additional  clause, 
requiring  the  provincial  assemblies  to  provide  the  troops  sent 
out  with  quarters,  and  to  furnish  them  with  fire,  beds,  candles, 
and  other  necessaries,  at  the  expense  of  the  colonies.  The 
governor  and  Assembly  of  New  York  refused  to  comply  with 
this  requisition  as  to  stationary  forces,  insisting  that  it  applied 
only  to  troops  on  a  march.  An  act  of  Parliament  now  sus- 
pended the  powers  of  the  governor  and  Assembly  until  they 
should  comply.  Chatham  attributed  this  opposition  of  the  col- 
onists %o  the  mutiny  act  to  "their  jealousy  of  being  somehow 

*  Parliamentary  Register,  1766. 

t  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington^  11.  345,  npte. 


LIFE    OF  WASHINGTON.  209 

or  other  taxed  internally  by  the  Parliament ;  the  act,"  said  he, 
"  asserting  the  right  of  Parliament,  has  certainly  spread  a  most 
unfortunate  jealousy  and  diffidence  of  government  here  through- 
out America,  and  makes  them  jealous  of  the  least  distinction 
between  this  country  and  that,  lest  the  same  principle  may  be 
extended  to  taxing  them."  * 

Boston  continued  to  be  the  focus  of  what  the  ministerialists 
termed  sedition.  The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  not 
content  with  ^petitioning  the  king  for  relief  against  the  recent 
measures  of  Parliament,  especially  those  imposing  taxes  as  a 
means  of  revenue,  drew  up  a  circular,  calling  on  the  other 
colonial  legislatures  to  join  with  them  in  suitable  efforts  to  ob- 
tain redress.  In  the  ensuing  session.  Governor  Sir  Francis 
Bernard  called  upon  them  to  rescind  the  resolution  on  which 
the  circular  was  founded, — they  refused  to  comply,  and  the 
General  Court  was  consequently  dissolved.  The  governors  of 
other  colonies  required  of  their  legislatures  an  assurance  that 
they  would  not  reply  to  the  Massachusetts  circular, — these 
legislatures  likewise  refused  compliance,  and  were  dissolved. 
All  this  added  to  the  growing  excitement. 

Memorials  were  addressed  to  the  lords,  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral, and  remonstrances  to  the  House  of  Commons,  against 
taxation  for  revenue,  as  destructive  to  the  liberties  of  the  col- 
onists ;  and  against  the  act  suspending  the  legislative  power  of 
the  province  of  New  York,  as  menacing  the  welfare  of  the  col- 
onies in  general. 

Nothing,  however,  produced  a  more  powerful  effect  upon  the 
public  sensibilities  throughout  the  country,  than  certain  mili- 
tary demonstrations  at  Boston.  In  consequence  of  repeated 
collisions  between  the  people  of  that  place  and  the  commission- 
ers of  customs,  two  regiments  were  held  in  readiness  at  Halifax 
to  embark  for  Boston  in  the  ships  of  Commodore  Hood  when- 
ever Governor  Bernard,  or  the  general,  should  give  the  word. 
"Had  this  force  been  landed  in  Boston  six  months  ago,"  writes 
the  commodore,  "I  am  perfectly  persuaded  no  address  or  re- 
monstrances would  have  been  sent  from  the  other  colonies,  and 
that  all  would  have  been  tolerably  quiet  and  orderly  at  this 
time  throughout  America."  f 

Tidings  reached  Boston  that  these  troops  were  embarked  and 
that  they  were  coming  to  overawe  the  people.  What  was  to 
be  done  ?  The  General  Court  had  been  dissolved,  and  the 
governor  refused  to  convene  it  without  the  royal  command.  A 
convention,  therefore,  from   various  towns   met  at  Boston,  on 

*  Chatham's  Correspondence,  vol.  iii.  pp.  186-192, 
t  Grenville  Papers,  vol.  iv.  p',  362. 


210  ^-IFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  22d  of  September,  to  devise  measures  for  the  public  safety; 
but  disclaiming  all  pretensions  to  legislative  powers.  While 
the  convention  was  yet  in  session  (September  28tb),  the  two 
regiments  arrived,  with  seven  armed  vessels.  "  I  am  very  con- 
fident," writes  Commodore  Hood  from  Halifax,  ^^  the  spirited 
measures  now  pursuing  will  soon  effect  order  in  America." 

On  the  contrary,  these  *^ spirited  measures"  added  fuel  to 
the  fire  they  were  intended  to  quench.  It  was  resolved  in  a 
town  meeting  that  the  king  had  no  right  to  send  troops  thither 
without  the  consent  of  the  assembly  ;  that  Great  Britain  had 
broken  the  original  compact,  and  that,  therefore,  the  king's  of- 
ficers had  no  longer  any  business  there.* 

The  "  selectmen  "  accordingly  refused  to  find  quarters  for 
the  soldiers  in  the  town  ;  the  council  refused  to  find  barracks 
for  them,  lest  it  should  be  construed  into  a  compliance  with  the 
disputed  clause  of  the  mutiny  act.  Some  of  the  troops,  there- 
fore, which  had  tents,  were  encamped  on  the  common ;  others 
by  the  governor's  orders,  were  quartered  in  the  state-house,  and 
others  in  Faneuil  Hall,  to  the  great  indignation  of  the  public, 
who  were  grievously  scandalized  at  seeing  field-pieces  planted  in 
front  of  the  state-house ;  sentinels  stationed  at  the  doors,  chal- 
lenging every  one  who  passed;  and,  above  all,  at  having  the 
sacred  quiet  of  the  Sabbath  disturbed  by  drum  and  fife,  and 
other  military  music. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

CHEERFUL  LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VERNON. — WASHINGTON  AND 
GEORGE  MASON. CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  THE  NON- 
IMPORTATION AGREEMENT. FEELING  TOWARD    ENGLAND. — 

OPENING  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE   SESSION.— *-SEMI-REGAL  STATE 

OF  LORD    BOTETOURT. HIGH-TONED     PROCEEDINGS     OF    THE 

HOUSE. SYMPATHY  WITH    NEW    ENGLAND. DISSOLVED     BY 

LORD    BOTETOURT. — WASHINGTON  AND  THE  ARTICLES  OF  AS- 
SOCIATION. 

Throughout  these  public  agitations,  Washington  endeavor^ 
ed  to  preserve  his  equanimity,  Eemoved  from  the  heated 
throngs  of  cities,  his  diary  denotes  a  cheerful  and  healthful  life 
at  Mount  Vernon,  devoted  to  those  rural  occupations  in  which 
he  delighted,  and  varied  occasionally  by  his  favorite  field  sports 
Sometimes  he  is  duck-shooting  on  the  Potomac.  Repeatedly 
*  Whately  to  Grenville.     Gren,  Papers^  vol.  iv.  p.  389. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  211 

we  find  note  of  his  being  out  at  sunrise  with  the  hounds,  in 
company  with  old  Lord  Fairfax,  Bryan  Fairfax,  and  others  ; 
and  ending  the  day's  sport  by  a  dinner  at  Mount  Vernon,  or 
Belvoir. 

Still  he  was  too  true  a  patriot  not  to  sympathize  in  the 
struggle  for  colonial  rights  which  now  agitated  the  whole  coun- 
try, and  we  find  him  gradually  carried  more  and  more  into  the 
current  of  political  affairs. 

A  letter  written  on  the  fifth  of  April,  1769,  to  his  friend 
George  Mason,  shows  the  important  stand  he  was  disposed, 
to  take.  In  the  previous  year,  the  merchants  and  traders  of 
Boston,  Salem,  Connecticut,  and  Kew  York,  had  agreed  to  sus- 
pend for  a  time  the  importation  of  all  articles  subject  to  taxa- 
tion. Similar  resolutions  had  recently  been  adopted  by  the 
merchants  of  Philadelphia.  Washington's  letter  is  emphatic 
in  support  of  the  measure.  "At  a  time,"  writes  he,  "when 
our  lordly  masters  in  Great  Britain  will  be  satisfied  with  noth- 
ing less  than  the  deprivation  of  American  freedom,  it  seems 
highly  necessary  that  something  should  be  done  to  avert  the 
stroke,  and  maintain  the  liberty  which  we  have  derived  from 
our  ancestors.  But  the  manner  of  doing  it,  to  answer  the 
purpose  effectually,  is  the  point  in  question.  That  no  man 
should  scruple,  or  hesitate  a  moment  in  defense  of  so  valuable 
a  blessing,  is  clearly  my  opinion  yet  arms  should  be  the  last 
resource — the  dernier  ressort.  We  have  already,  it  is  said, 
proved  the  inefficacy  of  addresses  to  the  throne,  and  remon- 
strances to  Parliament.  How  far  their  attention  to  our  rights 
and  interests  is  to  be  awakened,  or  alarmed,  by  starving  their 
trade  and  manufactures,  remains  to  be  tried. 

"  The  northern  colonies,  it  appears,  are  endeavoring  to  adopt 
this  scheme.  In  my  opinion,  it  is  a  good  one,  and  must  be 
attended  with  salutary  effects,  provided  it  can  be  carried  pretty 

generally  into  execution That  there  will  be  a 

difficulty  attending  it  everywhere  from  clashing  interests,  and 
selfish,  designing  men,  ever  attentive  to  their  own  gain  and 
watchful  of  every  turn  that  can  assist  their  lucrative  views, 
cannot  be  denied,  and  in  the  tobacco  colonies,  where  the  trade 
is  so  diffused,  and  in  a  manner  wholly  conducted  by  factors  for 
their  principals  at  home,  these  difficulties  are  certainly  en- 
hanced, but  I  think  not  insurmountably  increased,  if  the  gen- 
tlemen in  their  several  counties  will  be  at  some  pains  to  explain 
matters  to  the  people,  and  stimulate  them  to  cordial  agreements 
to  purchase  none  but  certain  enumerated  articles  out  of  any  of 
the  stores,  after  a  definite  period,  and  neither  import,  nor  pur- 
chase any  themselves.     .     »     .     *     I  can  see  but  one   class  of 


212  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

people,  the  mercliants  excepted,  who  will  not,  or  ought  not,  to 
wish  well  to  the  scheme, — namely,  they  who  live  genteelly  and 
hospitably  on  clear  estates.  Such  as  these,  were  they  not 
to  consider  the  valuable  object  in  view,  and  the  good  of  others, 
might  think  it  hard  to  be  curtailed  in  their  living  and  enjoy- 
ment." 

This  was  precisely  the  class  to  which  Washington  belonged ; 
but  he  was  ready  and  willing  to  make  the  sacrifices  required. 
"  I  think  the  scheme  a  good  one,"  added  he,  "  and  that  it  ought 
to  be  tried  here,  with  such  alterations  as  our  circumstances 
render  absolutely  necessary." 

Mason,  in  his  reply,  concurred  with  him  in  opinion.  "Our 
all  is  at  stake,"  said  he,  "  and  the  little  conveniences  and  com- 
forts of  life,  when  set  in  competition  with  our  liberty,  ought  to 
be  rejected,  not  with  reluctance,  but  with  pleasure.  Yet  it  is 
plain  that,  in  the  tobacco  colonies,  we  cannot  at  present  confine 
our  importations  within  such  narrow  bounds  as  the  northern 
colonies.  A  plan  of  this  kind,  to  be  practicable,  must  be 
adapted  to  our  circumstances ;  for,  if  not  steadily  executed,  it 
had  better  have  remained  unattempted.  We  may  retrench  all 
manner  of  superfluities,  finery  of  all  descriptions,  and  confine 
ourselves  to  linens,  woolen,  etc.,  not  exceeding  a  certain  price. 
It  is  amazing  how  much  this  practice,  if  adopted  in  all  the 
colonies,  would  lessen  the  American  imports,  and  distress  the 
various  trades  and  manufactures  of  Great  Britain.  This  would 
awaken  their  attention.  They  would  see,  they  would  feel  the 
oppressions  we  groan  under,  and  exert  themselves  to  procure 
us  redress.  This,  once  obtained,  we  should  no  longer  discon- 
tinue our  importations,  confining  ourselves  still  not  to  import 
any  article  that  should  hereafter  be  taxed  by  act  of  Parliament 
for  raising  a  revenue  in  America ;  for,  however  singular  I  may 
be  in  the  opinion,  1  am  thoroughly  convinced,  that,  justice 
and  harmony  happily  restored,  it  is  not  the  interest  of  these 
colonies  to  refuse  British  manufactures.  Our  supplying  our 
mother  country  with  gross  materials,  and  taking  her  manu<- 
factures  in  return,  is  the  true  chain  of  connection  between  us. 
These  are  the  hands  which,  if  not  broken  by  oppression  must 
long  hold  us  together,  by  maintaining  a  constant  reciprocor 
tion  of  hiterest.^^ 

The  latter  part  of  the  above  quotation  shows  the  spirit  which 
actuated  Washington  and  the  friends  of  his  confidence ;  as  yet 
there  was  no  thought  nor  desire  of  alienation  from  the  mother 
country,  but  only  a  fixed  determination  to  be  placed  on  an 
equality  of  rights  and  privileges  with  her  other  children. 

A  single  word  in  the  passage  cited  from  Washington's  letter, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  213 

evinces  the  chord  which  still  vibrated  in  the  American  bosom ; 
he  incidentally  speaks  of  England  as  home.  It  was  the  fam- 
iliar term  with  which  she  was  usually  indicated  by  those  of 
English  descent;  and  the  writer  of  these  pages  remembers 
when  the  endearing  phrase  still  lingered  on  Anglo-American 
lips  even  after  the  Eevolution.  How  easy  would  it  have  been 
before  that  era  for  the  mother  country  to  have  rallied  back  the 
affections  of  her  colonial  children,  by  a  proper  attention  to 
their  complaints  !  They  asked  for  nothing  but  what  they 
were  entitled  to,  and  what  she  had  taught  them  to  prize  as 
their  dearest  inheritance.  The  spirit  of  liberty  which  they 
manifested  had  been  derived  from  her  own  precept  and  ex- 
ample. 

The  result  of  the  correspondence  between  Washington  and 
Mason  was  the  draft  by  the  latter  of  a  plan  of  association,  the 
members  of  which  were  to  pledge  themselves  not  to  import  or 
use  any  articles  of  British  merchandise  or  manufacture  subject 
to  duty.  This  paper  Washington  was  to  submit  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  at  the  approaching  ses- 
sion in  the  month  of  May. 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  opened  on  this  occasion  with  a 
brilliant  pageant.  While  military  force  was  arrayed  to  over- 
awe the  republican  Puritans  of  the  east,  it  was  thought  to 
dazzle  the  aristocratical  descendants  of  the  cavaliers  by  the  reflex 
of  regal  splendor.  Lord  Botetourt,  one  of  the  king's  lords  of  the 
bed-chamber,  had  recently  come  out  as  governor  of  the  province. 
Junius  described  him  as  "a  cringing,  bowing,  fawning,  sword- 
bearing  courtier."  Horace  Walpole  predicted  that  he  would 
turn  the  heads  of  the  Virginians  in  one  way  or  other.  ^'  If  his 
graces  do  not  captivate  them  he  will  enrage  them  to  fury  ;  for 
I  take  all  his  douceur  to  be  enameled  on  iron."  *  The  words 
of  political  satirists  and  court  wits,  however,  are  always  to  be 
taken  with  great  distrust.  However  his  lordship  may  have 
bowed  in  presence  of  royalty,  he  elsewhere  conducted  himself 
with  dignity,  and  won  general  favor  by  his  endearing  manners. 
He  certainly  showed  promptness  of  spirit  in  his  reply  to  the 
king  on  being  informed  of  his  appointment.  "  When  will  you 
be  ready  to  go  ?  "  asked  George  III.     "  To-night,  sir." 

He  had  come  out,  however,  with  a  wrong  idea  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. They  had  been  represented  to  him  as  factious,  immoral, 
and  prone  to  sedition  ;  but  vain  and  luxurious,  and  easily  cap- 
tivated by  parade  and  splendor.  The  latter  foibles  were  aimed 
at  in  his  appointment  and  fitting  out.  It  was  supposed  that 
his  titled  rank  would  have  its  effect.  Then  to  prepare  him  for 
*^Grenmlle  Papers,  iv.  note  to  p.  330, 


214  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

occasions  of  ceremony-;  a  coach  of  state  was  presented  to  him 
by  the  king.  He  was  allowed,  moreover,  the  quantity  of  plate 
usually  given  to  ambassadors,  whereupon  the  joke  was  circulated 
that  he  was  going  "  plenipo  to  the  Cherokees.''  ^ 

His  opening  of  the  session  was  in  the  style  of  the  royal  open- 
ing of  Parliament.  He  proceeded  in  due  parade  from  his  dwell- 
ling  to  the  capitol,  in  his  state  coach,  drawn  by  six  milk-white 
horses.  Having  delivered  his  speech  according  to  royal  form, 
he  returned  home  with  the  same  pomp  and  circumstance. 

The  time  had  gone  by,  however,  for  such  display  to  have  the 
anticipated  effect.  The  Virginian  legislators  penetrated  the 
intention  of  this  pompous  ceremonial,  and  regarded  it  with  a 
depreciating  smile.  Sterner  matters  occupied  their  thoughts  ; 
they  had  come  prepared  to  battle  for  their  rights,  and 
their  proceedings  soon  showed  Lord  Botetourt  how  much 
he  had  mistaken  them.  Spirited  resolutions  were  passed, 
denouncing  the  recent  act  of  Parliament  imposing  taxes ;  the 
power  to  do  which,  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony,  "  was 
legally  and  constitutionally  vested  in  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
with  consent  of  the  council  and  of  the  king,  or  of  his  governor 
for  the  time  being."  Copies  of  these  resolutions  were  ordered 
to  be  forwarded  by  the  speaker  to  the  legislatures  of  the  other 
colonies,  with  a  request  for  their  concurrence. 

Other  proceedings  of  the  burgesses  showed  their  sympathy 
with  their  fellow-patriots  of  New  England.  A  joint  address  of 
both  Houses  of  Parliament  had  recently  been  made  to  the  king, 
assuring  him  of  their  support  in  anv  further  measures  for  the 
due  execution  of  the  laws  in  Massachusetts,  and  beseeching  him 
that  all  persons  charged  with  treason,  or  misprision  of  treason, 
committed  within  that  colony  since  the  30th  of  December,  1767, 
might  be  sent  to  Great  Britain  for  trial. 

As  Massachusetts  had  no  General  Assembly  at  this  time, 
having  been  dissolved  by  government,  the  Legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia generously  took  up  the  cause.  An  address  to  the  king  was 
resolved  on,  stating  that  all  trials  for  treason,  or  misprision  of 
treason,  or  for  any  crime  whatever  committed  by  any  person  re- 
siding in  a  colony,  ought  to  be  in  and  before  His  Majesty's  courts 
within  said  colony;  and  beseeching  the  king  to  avert  from  his 
ioyal  subjects  those  dangers  and  miseries  which  would  ensue  from 
seizing  and  carrying  beyond  sea  any  person  residing  in  America 
suspected  of  any  crime  whatever,  thereby  depriving  them  of  the 
inestimable  privilege  of  being  tried  by  a.  jury  from  the  vicinage, 
as  well  as  the  liberty  of  producing  witnesses  on  such  trial. 

Disdaining  any  further  application  to  Parliament,  the  House 
*  Whately  to  Geo.  Grenville.     Grenville  Papers. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  215 

ordered  tLe  speaker  to  transmit  this  address  to  the  colonies' 
agent  in  England,  with  directions  to  cause  it  to  be  presented 
to  the  king,  and  afterwards  to  be  printed  and  published  in  the 
English  papers. 

Lord  Botetourt  was  astonished  and  dismayed  when  he  heard 
of  these  high-toned  proceedings.  Repairing  to  the  capitol  next 
day  at  noon,  he  summoned  the  speaker  and  members  to  the 
council  chamber  and  addressed  them  in  the  following  words  : 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  and  gentleman  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  I 
have  learned  of  your  resolves,  and  augur  ill  of  their  effects. 
You  have  made  it  my  duty  to  dissolve  you,  and  you  are  dis- 
solved accordingly." 

The  spirit  conjured  up  by  the  late  decrees  of  Parliament  was 
not  so  easily  allayed.  The  burgesses  adjourned  to  a  private 
house.  Peyton  Randolph,  their  late  speaker,  was  elected  mod- 
erator. Washington  now  brought  forward  a  draft  of  the  articles 
of  association,  concerted  between  him  and  George  Mason.  They 
formed  the  groundwork  of  an  instrument  signed  by  all  present, 
pledging  themselves  neither  to  import  nor  use  any  goods,  mer- 
chandise, or  manufactures  taxed  by  Parliament  to  raise  a 
revenue  in  America.  This  instrument  was  sent  throughout 
the  country  for  signature,  and  the  scheme  of  non-importation, 
hitherto  confined  to  a  few  northern  colonies,  was  soon  univer- 
sally adopted.  Eor  his  own  part,  Washington  adhered  to  it 
rigorously  throughout  the  year.  The  articles  proscribed  by  it 
were  never  to  be  seen  in  his  house,  and  his  agent  in  London 
was  enjoined  to  ship  nothing  for  him  while  subject  to  taxation. 

The  popular  ferment  in  Virginia  was  gradually  allayed  by 
the  amiable  and  conciliatory  conduct  of  Lord  Botetourt.  His 
lordship  soon  became  aware  of  the  erroneous  notions  with  which 
he  had  entered  upon  office.  His  semi-royal  equipage  and  state 
were  laid  aside.  He  examined  into  public  grievances ;  became  a 
strenuous  advocate  for  the  repeal  of  taxes  ;  and,  authorized  by 
his  despatches  from  the  ministry,  assured  the  public  that  such 
repeal  would  speedily  take  place.  His  assurance  w^as  received 
with  implicit  faith,  and  for  a  while  Virginia  was  quieted. 


216  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


I 


HOOD  AT  BOSTON. — THE  GENERAL  COURT  REFUSES  TO  DO  BUSI- 
NESS UNDER  MILITARY  SWAY. RESISTS  THE  BILLETING  ACT. 

EFFECT    OF     THE    NON-IMPORTATION    ASSOCIATION. LORD 

NORTH  PREMIER. DUTIES    REVOKED    EXCEPT  ON    TEA. THE 

BOSTON     MASSACRE. DISUSE    OF    TEA. CONCILIATORY    CON- 
DUCT OF  LORD  BOTETOURT. HIS  DEATH. 

"  The  worst  is  past,  and  tbe  spirit  of  sedition  broken/'  writes 
Hood  to  Grenville,  early  in  the  spring  of  1769.^  When  the 
commodore  wrote  this,  his  ships  were  in  the  harbor,  and  troops 
occupied  the  town,  and  he  flattered  himself  that  at  length 
turbulent  Boston  was  quelled.  But  it  only  awaited  its  time 
to  be  seditious  according  to  rule  ;  there  was  always  an  irresist- 
ible "  method  in  its  madness." 

In  the  month  of  May,  the  General  Court,  hitherto  prorogued, 
met  according  to  charter.  A  committee  immediately'  waited 
on  the  governor,  stating  it  was  impossible  to  do  business  with 
dignity  and  freedom  while  the  town  was  invested  by  sea  and 
land,  and  a  military  guard  was  stationed  at  the  state-house, 
with  cannon  pointed  at  the  door ;  and  they  requested  the 
governor,  as  His  Majesty's  representative,  to  have  such  forces 
removed  out  of  the  port  and  gates  of  the  city  during  the  ses* 
sion  of  the  Assembly. 

The  governor  replied  that  he  had  no  authority  over  either 
the  ships  or  troops.  The  court  persisted  in  refusing  to  tran- 
sact business  while  so  circumstanced,  and  the  governor  was 
obliged  to  transfer  the  session  to  Cambridge.  There  he  ad- 
dressed a  message  to  that  body  in  July,  requiring  fund^  for  the 
payment  of  the  troops,  and  quarters  for  their  accommodation. 
The  Assembly,  after  ample  discussion  of  past  grievances,  re- 
solved, that  the  establishment  of  a  standing  army  in  the  colony 
in  a  time  of  peace  was  an  invasion  of  natural  rights ;  that  a 
standing  army  was  not  known  as  a  part  of  the  British  constitu- 
tion, and  that  the  sending  an  armed  force  to  aid  the  civil 
authority  was  unprecedented,  and  highly  dangerous  to  the 
people. 

After  waiting  some  days  without  receiving  an  answer  to  his 
*  Grenville  Papers,  vol.  ill. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  217 

message,  the  governor  sent  to  know  whether  the  Assembly 
would,  or  would  not,  make  provision  for  the  troops.  In  their 
reply,  they  followed  the  example  of  the  legislature  of  New 
York,  in  commenting  on  the  mutiny,  or  billeting  act,  and  ended 
by  declining  to  furnish  funds  for  the  purposes  specified,  "being 
incompatible  with  their  own  honor  and  interest,  and  their  duty 
to  their  constituents."  They  were  in  consequence  again  pro- 
rogued, to  meet  in  Boston  on  the  10th  of  January. 

So  stood  affairs  in  Massachusetts.  In  the  meantime,  the 
non-importation  associations,  being  generally  observed  through- 
out the  colonies,  produced  the  effect  on  British  commerce  which 
Washington  had  anticipated,  and  Parliament  was  incessantly 
importuned  by  petitions  from  British  merchants,  imploring  its 
intervention  to  save  them  from  ruin. 

Early  in  1770,  an  important  change  took  place  in  the  British 
cabinet.  The  Duke  of  Grafton  suddenly  resigned,  and  the 
reins  of  government  passed  into  the  hands  of  Lord  North.  He 
was  a  man  of  limited  capacity,  but  a  favorite  of  the  king,  and 
subservient  to  his  narrow  colonial  policy.  His  administration, 
so  eventful  to  America,  commenced  with  an  error.  In  the 
month  of  March,  an  act  was  passed,  revoking  all  the  duties  laid 
in  1767,  excepting  that  on  tea.  This  single  tax  was  continued, 
as  he  observed,  "to  maintain  the  parliamentary  right  of  taxa- 
tion,"— the  very  right  which  was  the  grand  object  of  contest, 
In  this,  however,  he  was'  in  fact  yielding,  against  his  better 
judgment,  to  the  stubborn  tenacity  of  the  king. 

He  endeavored  to  reconcile  the  opposition,  and  perhaps  him- 
self, to  the  measure,  by  plausible  reasoning.  An  impost  of 
threepence  on  the  pound  could  never,  he  alleged,  be  opposed  by 
the  colonists,  unless  they  were  determined  to  rebel  against 
Great  Britain.  Besides,  a  duty  on  that  article,  payable  in 
England,  and  amounting  to  nearly  one  shilling  on  the  pound, 
was  taken  off  on  its  exportation  to  America,  so  that  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  colonies  saved  ninepence  on  the  pound. 

Here  was  the  stumbling-block  at  the  threshold  of  Lord 
North's  administration.  In  vain  the  members  of  the  opposition 
urged  that  this  single  exception,  while  it  would  produce  no 
revenue,  would  keep  alive  the  whole  cause  of  contention  ;  that 
so  long  as  a  single  external  duty  was  enforced,  the  colonies 
would  consider  their  rights  invaded  and  would  remain  unap- 
peased.  Lord  North  was  not  to  be  convinced  ;  or  rather,  he 
knew  the  royal  will  was  inflexible,  and  he  complied  with  its  be- 
hests. "  The  properest  time  to  exert  our  right  to  taxation,'' 
said  he,  "  is  when  the  right  is  refused.  To  temporize  is  to 
yield  j  and  the  authority  of  the    mother  country^  if  it  is  now 


218  'LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  gj 

unsupported,  will  be  relinquished  forever  :  atotal repeal  cannot 
he  thought  of  till  America  is  prostrate  at  our  feet. ^^  * 

On  the  very  day  in  which  this  ominous  bill  was  passed  in 
Parliament,  a  sinister  occurrence  took  place  in  Boston.  Some 
of  the  young  men  of  the  place  insulted  the  military  while  under 
arms ;  the  latter  resented  it ;  the  young  men,  after  a  scuffle, 
were  put  to  flight,  and  pursued.  The  alarm  bells  rang  j  a  mob 
assembled  ;  the  custom-house  was  threatened ;  the  troops  in 
protecting  it  were  assailed  with  clubs  and  stones,  and  obliged 
to  use  their  fire-arms,  before  the  tumult  could  be  quelled.  Four 
of  the  populace  were  killed,  and  several  wounded.  The  troops 
were  now  removed  from  the  town,  which  remained  in  the  high- 
est state  of  exasperation  j  and  this  untoward  occurrence 
received  the  opprobrious  and  somewhat  extravagant  name  of 
"  the  Boston  massacre." 

The  colonists,  as  *a  matter  of  convenience,  resumed  the  con- 
sumption of  those  articles  on  which  the  duties  had  been  re- 
pealed ;  but  continued,  on  principle,  the  rigorous  disuse  of  tea, 
excepting  such  as  had  been  smuggled  in.  New  England  was 
particularly  earnest  in  the  matter ;  many  of  the  inhabitants, 
in  the  spirit  of  their  Puritan  progenitors,  made  a  covenant,  to 
drink  no  more  of  the  forbidden  beverage,  until  the  duty  on  tea 
should  be  repealed. 

In  Virginia  the  public  discontents,  which  had  been  allayed 
by  the  conciliatory  conduct  of  Lord  Botetourt,  and  by  his  as- 
surances, made  on  the  strength  of  letters  received  from  the 
ministry,  that  the  grievances  complained  of  would  be  speedily 
redressed,  now  broke  out  with  more  violence  than  ever.  The 
Virginians  spurned  the  mock-remedy  which  left  the  real  cause 
of  complaint  untouched.  His  lordship  also  felt  deeply  wounded 
by  the  disingenuousness  of  ministers  which  led  him  into  such 
a  predicament,  and  wrote  home  demanding  his  discharge.  Be- 
fore it  arrived,  an  attack  of  bilious  fever,  acting  upon  a  delicate 
and  sensitive  frame,  enfeebled  by  anxiety  and  chagrin,  laid  him 
in  his  grave.  He  left  behind  him  a  name  endeared  to  the  Vir- 
ginians by  his  amiable  manners,  his  liberal  patronage  of  the 
arts,  and,  above  all,  by  his  zealous  intercession  for  their  rights. 
Washington  himself  testifies  that  he  was  inclined  "  to  render 
every  just  and  reasonable  service  to  the  people  whom  he  gov- 
erned." A  statue  to  his  memory  was  decreed  by  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  to  be  erected  in  the  area  of  the  capitol.  It  is  still 
to  be  seen,  though  in  a  mutilated  condition,  in  Williamsburg, 
the  old  seat  of  government,  and  a  county  in  Virginia  continues 
to  bear  his  honored  name. 

*  Holmes's  J.mer.  Annals^  vol.  ii.  p.  173. 


LIFU  OF  WASHINGTON.  219 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

EXPEDITION  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  THE  OHIO,  IN  BEHALF  OF  SOL- 
DIERS' CLAIMS. UNEASY  STATE  OF  THE  FRONTIER. VISIT  TO 

FORT  PITT. GEORGE  CROGHAN. HIS  MISHAPS  DURING  PONTI- 

AC''s  WAR. WASHINGTON  DESCENDS  THE  OHIO. SCENES  ANf) 

ADVENTURES  ALONG  THE  RIVER. INDIAN  HUNTING  CAMP. 

INTERVIEW  WITH  AN  OLD  SACHEM  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  KA^ 

NAWHA. RETURN. CLAIMS    OF    STOBO  AND  VAN  BRAAM. 

LETTER  TO  COLONEL  GEORGE  MUSE. 

In  the  midst  of  these  popular  turmoils,  Washington  was  in- 
duced, by  public  as  well  as  private  considerations,  to  make 
another  expedition  to  the  Ohio.  He  was  one  of  the  Virginia 
Board  of  Commissioners,  appointed,  at  the  close  of  the  late  war, 
to  settle  the  military  accounts  of  the  colony.  Among  the 
claims  which  came  before  the  board,  were  those  of  the  officers 
and  soldiers  who  had  engaged  to  serve  until  peace,  under  the 
proclamation  of  Governor  Dinwiddle,  holding  forth  a  bounty  of 
two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  to  be  apportioned  among 
them  according  to  rank.  Those  claims  were  yet  unsatisfied, 
for  governments,  like  individuals,  are  slow  to  pay  off  in  peace- 
ful times  the  debts  incurred  while  in  the  fighting  mood. 
Washington  became  the  champion  of  those  claims,  and  an  op- 
portunity now  presented  itself  for  their  liquidation.  The  Six 
JSTations,  by  a  treaty  in  1768,  had  ceded  to  the  British  crown, 
in  consideration  of  a  sum  of  money,  all  the  lands  possessed  by 
them  south  of  the  Ohio.  Land  offices  would  soon  be  opened 
for  the  sale  of  them.  Squatters  and  speculators  were  already 
preparing  to  swarm  in,  set  up  their  marks  on  the  choicest  spots, 
and  establish  what  were  called  pre-emption  rights.  Washington 
determined  at  once  to  visit  the  lands  thus  ceded,  affix  his  mark 
on  such  tracts  as  he  should  select,  and  apply  for  a  grant  from 
government  in  behalf  of  the  "  soldier's  claim." 

The  expedition  would  be  attended  with  some  degree  of 
danger.  The  frontier  was  yet  in  an  uneasy  state.  It  is  true 
some  time  had  elapsed  since  the  war  of  Pontiac,  but  some  of 
the  Indian  tribes  were  almost  ready  to  resume  the  hatchet. 
The  Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  Mingoes  complained  that  the 
Six  l^ations  had  not  given  them  their  full  share  of  the  qon- 


220  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

sideration  money  of  tlie  late  sale,  and  they  talked  of  exacting 
the  deficiency  from  the  white  men  who  came  to  settle  in  what 
had  been  their  hunting-grounds.  Traders,  squatters,  and  other 
adventurers  into  the  wilderness,  were  occasionally  murdered, 
and  further  troubles  Avere  apprehended. 

Washington  had  for  a  companion  in  this  expedition  his  friend 
and  neighbor,  Doctor  Craik,  and  it  was  with  strong  community 
of  feeling  they  looked  forward  peaceably  to  revisit  the  scenes 
of  their  military  experience.  They  set  out  on  the  5th  of  Octo- 
ber with  three  negro  attendants,  two  belonging  to  Washington, 
and  one  to  the  doctor.  The  whole  party  was  mounted,  and 
there  was  a  led  horse  for  the  baggage. 

After  twelve  days'  travelling  they  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt  (late 
Fort  Duquesne).  It  was  garrisoned  by  two  companies  of  Royal 
Irish,  commanded  by  a  Captain  Edmonson.  A  hamlet  of  about 
twenty  log-houses,  inhabited  by  Indian  traders,  had  sprung 
up  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  and  was  called 
"  the  town."  It  was  the  embryo  city  of  Pittsburg,  now  so 
populous.  At  one  of  the  houses,  a  tolerable  frontier  inn,  they 
took  up  their  quarters  ;  but  during  their  brief  sojourn  they 
were  entertained  with  great  hospitality  at  the  fort. 

Here  at  dinner  Washington  met  his  old  acquaintance, 
George  Croghan,  who  had  figured  in  so  many  capacities  and  ex- 
perienced so  many  vicissitudes  on  the  frontier.  He  was  now 
Colonel  Croghan,  deputy-agent  to  Sir  William  Johnson,  and 
had  his  residence — or  seat,  as  Washington  terms  it — on  the 
banks  of  the  Alleghany  river,  about  four  miles  from  the  fort. . 

Croghan  had  experienced  troubles  and  dangers  during  the 
Pontiac  war,  both  from  white  man  and  savage.  At  one  time, 
.while  he  was  convoying  presents  from  Sir  William  to  the  Dela- 
wares  and  Shawnees,  his  caravan  was  set  upon  and  plundered 
by  a  band  of  backwoodsmen  of  Pennsylvania — men  resembling 
Indians  in  garb  and  habits,  and  fully  as  lawless.  At  another 
time,  when  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  with  some  of 
his  Indian  allies,  a  band  of  Kickapoos,  supposing  the  latter  to 
be  Cherokees,  their  deadly  enemies,  rushed  forth  from  the 
woods  with  horrid  yells,  shot  down  several  of  his  companions, 
and  wounded  himself.  It  must  be  added,  that  no  white  men 
could  have  made  more  ample  apologies  than  did  the  Kickapoos 
when  they  discovered  that  they  had  fired  upon  friends. 

Another  of  Croghan's  perils  was  from  the  redoubtable  Pontiac 
himself.  The  chieftain  had  heard  of  his  being  on  a  mission  to 
win  off,  by  dint  of  presents,  the  other  sachems  of  the  conspir- 
acy^ and  declared,  significantly,  that  he  had  a  large  kettle  boil- 
ing in  which  he  intended  to  seethe  the  ambassador.     It  was 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON  221 

fortunate  for  Croghan  that  he  did  not  meet  with  the  formidable 
chieftain  while  in  this  exasperated  mood.  He  subsequently- 
encountered  him  when  Pontiac's  spirit  was  broken  by  reverses. 
They  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace  together,  and  the  colonel  claim- 
ed the  credit  of  having,  by  his  diplomacy,  persuaded  the  sachem 
to  bury  the  hatchet. 

On  the  day  following  the  repast  at  the  fort,  Washington 
visited  Croghan  at  his  abode  on  the  Alleghany  E,iver,  where  he 
found  several  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  assembled.  One 
of  them,  the  White  Mingo  by  name,  made  him  a  speech,  accom- 
panied, as  usual,  by  a  belt  of  wampum.  Some  of  his  companions, 
he  said,  remembered  to  have  seen  him  in  1753,  when  he  came 
on  his  embassy  to  the  French  commander ;  most  of  them  had 
heard  of  him.  They  had  now  come  to  welcome  him  to  their 
country.  They  wished  the  people  of  Virginia  to  consider  them 
as  friends  and  brothers,  linked  together  in  one  chain,  and  re- 
quested him  to  inform  the  governor  of  their  desire  to  live  in 
peace  and  harmony  with  the  white  men.  As  to  certain  unhappy 
differences  which  had  taken  place  between  them  on  the  frontiers 
they  were  all  made  up,  and,  they  hoped,  forgotten. 

Washington  accepted  the  "  speech-belt,"  and  made  a  suitable 
reply,  assuring  the  chiefs  that  nothing  was  more  desired  by  the 
people  of  Virginia  than  to  live  with  them,  on  terms  of  the 
strictest  friendship. 

At  Pittsburg  the  travellers  left  their  horses,  and  embarked 
in  a  large  canoe,  to  make  a  voyage  down  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the 
Great  Kanawha.  Colonel  Croghan  engaged  two  Indians  for 
their  services,  and  an  interpreter  named  John  Nicholson.  The 
colonel  and  some  of  the  officers  of  the  garrison  accompanied 
them  as  far  as  Logstown,  the  scene  of  Washington's  early  di- 
plomacy^ and  his  first  interview  with  the  half-king.  Here  they 
breakfasted  together ;  after  which  they  separated,  the  colonel 
and  his  companions  cheering  the  voyagers  from  the  shore,  as 
the  canoe  was  borne  off  by  the  current  of  the  beautiful  Ohio. 

It  was  now  the  hunting  season,  when  the  Indians  leave  their 
towns,  set  off  with  their  families,  and  lead  a  roving  life  in 
cabins  and  hunting-camps  along  the  river.  Shifting  from  place 
to  place,  as  game  abounds  or  decreases,  and  often  extending 
their  migrations  two  or  three  hundred  miles  down  the  stream. 
The  women  were  as  dexterous  as  the  men  in  the  management 
of  the  canoe,  but  were  generally  engaged  in  the  domestic  labors 
of  the  lodge  while  their  husbands  were  abroad  hunting. 

Washington's  propensities  as  a  sportsman  had  here  full  play. 
Deer  were  continually  to  be  seen  coming  down  to  the  water's 
edge  to  drink^  or  browsing  along  the   shore  j  there  were  innur 


222  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

merable  flocks  of  wild  turkeys,  and  streaming  flights  of  ducks  and 
geese ;  so  that  as  the  voyagers  floated  along,  they  were  enabled 
to  load  their  canoe  with  game.  At  night  they  encamped  on 
the  river  bank,  lit  their  fire  and  made  a  sumptuous  hunter's  re- 
past. Washington  always  relished  this  wild-wood  life  ;  and 
the  present  had  that  spice  of  danger  in  it  which  has  a  peculiar 
charm  for  adventurous  minds.  The  great  object  of  his  expedi- 
tion, however,  is  evinced  in  his  constant  notes  on  the  features 
and  character  of  the  country,  the  quality  of  the  soil  as  indicated  by 
the  nature  of  the  trees,  and  the  level  tracts  fitted  for  settlements. 

About  seventy-five  miles  below  Pittsburg  the  voyagers  landed 
at  a  Mingo  town,  which  they  found  in  a  stir  of  warlike  prepa- 
ration— sixty  of  the  warriors  being  about  to  set  off  on  a  foray 
into  the  Cherokee  country  against  the  Catawbas. 

Here  the  voyagers  were  brought  to  a  pause  by  a  report  that 
two  white  men,  traders,  had  been  murdered  about  thirty-eight 
miles  further  down  the  river.  Eeports  of  the  kind  were  not  to 
be  treated  lightly.  Indian  faith  was  uncertain  along  the  fron- 
tier, and  white  men  were  often  shot  down  in  the  wilderness  for 
plunder  or  revenge.  On  the  following  day  the  report  moder- 
ated. Only  one  man  was  said,  to  have  been  killed,  and  that 
not  by  Indians ;  so  Washington  determined  to  continue 
forward  until  he  could  obtain  correct  information  in  the 
matter. 

On  the  24th,  about  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  voyagers 
arrived  at  Captema  Creek,  at  the  mouth  of  which  the  trader 
was  said  to  have  been  killed.  As  all  was  quiet  and  no  one  to 
be  seen,  they  agreed  to  encamp,  while  Nicholson  the  interpreter, 
and  one  of  the  Indians,  repaired  to  a  village  a  few  miles  up  the 
creek  to  inquire  about  the  murde-r.  They  found  but  two  old 
women  at  the  village.  The  men  were  all  absent,  hunting.  The 
interpreter  returned  to  camp  in  the  evening,  bringing  the  truth 
of  the  murderous  tale.  A  trader  had  fallen  a  victim  to  his  tem- 
erity, having  been  drowned  in  attempting,  in  company  with 
another,  to  swim  his  horse  across  the  Ohio. 

Two  days  more  of  voyaging  brought  them  to  an  Indian  hunt- 
ing camp,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum.  Here  it  was 
necessary  to  land  and  make  a  ceremonious  visit,  for  the  chief  of 
the  hunting  party  was  Kiashuta,  a  Seneca  sachem,  the  head  of 
the  river  tribes.  He  was  noted  to  have  been  among  the  first 
to  raise  the  hatchet  in  Pontiac's  conspiracy,  and  almost  equally 
vindictive  with  that  potent  warrior.  As  Washington  ap- 
proached the  chieftain,  he  recognized  him  for  one  of  the  Indians 
who  had  accompanied  him  on  his  mission  to  the  French  in 
1753, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  223 

Kiashuta  retained  a  perfect  recollection  of  the  youthful  am- 
bassador, though  seventeen  years  had  matured  him  into 
thoughtful  manhood.  With  hunter's  hospitality  he  gave  him 
a  quarter  of  a  fine  buffalo  just  slain,  but  insisted  that  they 
should  encamp  together  for  the  night ;  and  in  order  not  to  re- 
tard him,  moved  with  his  own  party  to  a  good  camping  place 
some  distance  down  the  river.  Here  they  had  long  talks  and 
council-fires  over  night  and  in  the  morning,  with  all  the 
"tedious  ceremony,"  says  Washington,  "which  the  Indians  ob- 
serve in  their  counselings  and  speeches."  Kiashuta  had  heard 
of  what  had  passed  between  Washington  and  the  "White 
Mingo,"  and  other  sachems,  at  Colonel  Croghan's,  and  was 
eager  to  express  his  own  desire  for  peace  and  friendship  with 
Virginia,  and  fair  dealings  with  her  traders  ;  all  which  Wash- 
ington promised  to  report  faithfully  to  the  governor.  It  was 
not  until  a  late  hour  in  the  morning  that  he  was  enabled  to 
bring  these  conferences  to  a  close,  and  pursue  his  voyage. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha  the  voyagers  encamped 
for  a  day  or  two  to  examine  the  lands  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
Washington  set  up  his  mark  upon  such  as  he  intended  to  claim 
'on  behalf  of  the  soldiers'  grant.  It  was  a  fine  sporting  country, 
having  small  lakes  or  grassy  ponds  abounding  with  water-fowl, 
such  as  ducks,  geese,  and  swans  ;  flocks  of  turkeys,  as  usual ; 
and,  for  larger  game,  deer  and  buffalo;  so  that  their  camp 
abounded  with  provisions. 

Here  Washington  was  visited  by  an  old  sachem  who  ap- 
proached him  with  great  reverence,  at  the  head  of  several  of  his 
tribe,  and  addressed  him  through  Nicholson,  the  interpreter. 
He  had  heard,  he  said,  of  his  being  in  that  part  of  the  country, 
and  had  come  from  a  great  distance  to  see  him.  On  further 
discourse,  the  sachem  made  known  that  he  was  one  of  the  war- 
riors in  the  service  of  the  French,  who  lay  in  ambush  on  the 
banks  of  the  Monongahela  and  wrought  such  havoc  in  Brad- 
dock's  army.  He  declared  that  he  and  his  young  men  had  sin- 
gled out  Washington,  as  he  made  himself  conspicuous  riding 
about  the  field  of  battle  with  the  general's  orders,  and  had  fired 
at  him  repeatedly,  but  without  success  ;  whence  they  had  con- 
cluded that  he  was  under  the  protection  of  the  Grreat  Spirit, 
had  a  charmed  life,  and  could  not  be  slain  in  battle.. 

At  the  Great  Kanawha  Washington's  expedition  down  the 
Ohio  terminated,  having  visited  all  the  points  he  wished  to  ex- 
amine. His  return  to  Fort  Pitt,  and  thence  homeward,  affords 
no  incident  worthy  of  note.  The  whole  expedition,  however, 
was  one  of  that  hardy  and  adventurous  kind,  mingled 
with  practical  purposes,  in  which  he  delighted.     This  winter 


224  LIFE  OF  WASHtNGTON. 

voyage  down  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe^  with  the  doctor  for  a  com- 
panion and  two  Indians  for  crew^  through  regions  yet  insecure, 
from  the  capricious  hostility  of  prowling  savages,  is  not  one  of 
the  least  striking  of  his  frontier  "  experiences.^^  The  hazardous 
nature  of  it  was  made  apparent  shortly  afterwards  by  another 
outbreak  of  the  Ohio  tribes  :  one  of  its  bloodiest  actions  took 
place  on  the  very  banks  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  in  which  Col- 
onel Lewis  and  a  number  of  brave  Virginians  lost  their  lives. 

NOTE. 

In  the  final  adjustment  of  claims  under  Governor  Dinwiddle's  procla- 
mation, Washington,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  ob- 
tained grants  for  the  lands  he  had  marked  out  in  the  course  of  his  visit 
to  the  Ohio.  Fifteen  thousand  acres  were  awarded  to  a  field-oJ9Eicer,  nine 
thousand  to  a  captain,  six  thousand  to  a  subaltern,  and  so  on.  Among 
the  claims  which  he  entered  were  those  of  Stobo  and  Van  Braam,  the 
hostages  in  the  capitulation  of  the  Great  Meadows.  After  many  vicissi- 
tudes they  were  now  in  London,  and  nine  thousand  acres  were  awarded 
to  each  of  them.  Their  domains  were  ultimately  purchased  by  Wash- 
ington through  his  London  agent. 

Another  claimant  was  Col.  George  Muse,  Washington's  early  in- 
structor in  military  science.  His  claim  was  admitted  with  difficulty,  for 
he  stood  accused  of  having  acted  the  part  of  a  poltroon  in  the  campaign, 
and  Washington  seems  to  have  considered  the  charge  well  founded. 
Still  he  appears  to  have  been  dissatisfied  with  the  share  of  land  assigned 
him,  and  to  have  written  to  Washington  somewhat  rudely  on  the  sub- 
ject. His  letter  is  not  extant,  but  we  subjoin  Washington's  reply  al- 
most entire,  as  a  specimen  of  the  caustic  pen  he  could  wield  under  a 
mingled  emotion  of  scorn  and  indignation. 

"  SiK, — Your  impertinent  letter  was  delivered  to  me  yesterday.  As 
I  am  not  accustomed  to  receive  such  from  any  man,  nor  would  have 
taken  the  same  language  from  you  personally,  without  letting  you  feel 
some  marks  of  my  resentment,  I  advise  you  to  be  cautious  in  writing  me 
a  second  of  the  same  tenor;  for  though  I  understand  you  were  drunk 
when  you  did  it,  yet  give  me  leave  to  tell  you  that  drunkenness  is  no 
excuse  for  rudeness.  But  for  your  stupidity  and  sottishness  you  might 
have  known,  by  attending  to  the  public  gazette,  that  you  had  your  full 
quantity  of  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  allowed  you;  that  is,  nine  thou- 
sand and  seventy-three  acres  in  the  great  tract,  and  the  remainder  in  the 
small  tract. 

"  But  suppose  you  had  really  fallen  short,  do  you  think  your  superla- 
tive merit  entitles  you  to  greater  indulgence  than  others  ?  Or,  if  it  did, 
that  I  was  to  make  it  good  to  you,  when  it  was  at  the  option  of  the  gov- 
ernor and  council  to  allow  but  five  hundred  acres  in  the  whole,  if  they 
had  been  so  inclined  ?  If  either  of  these  should  happen  to  be  your  opi^n- 
ion,  I  am  very  well  convinced  that  you  will  be  singular  in  it;  and  all 
my  concern  is  that  I  ever  engaged  myself  in  behalf  of  so  ungrateful  and 
dirty  a  fellow  as  you  are." 

N.  B.— The  above  is  from  the  letter  as  it  exists  in  the  archives  of  the 
Department  of  State  at  Washington.  It  differs  in  two  or  three  particu- 
lars from  that  published  among  Washington's  writings. 


J 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  22S 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 

LORD  DUNMORE  GOVERNOR  OF  VIRGINIA. — PIQUES  THE  PRIDE 
OF  THE  VIRGINIANS. OPPOSITION  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY. COR- 
RESPONDING COMMITTEES. — DEATH  OF  MISS  CUSTIS. WASH- 
INGTON'S    GUARDIANSHIP     OF     JOHN     PARKE     CUSTIS. HIS 

OPINIONS     AS     TO     PREMATURE     TRAVEL     AND     PREMATURE 
MARRIAGE. 

The  discontents  of  Virginia,  which  had  been  partially  soothed 
by  the  amiable  administration  of  Lord  Botetourt,  were  irritated 
anew  under  his  successor,  the  Earl  of  Dunmore.  This  noble- 
man had  for  a  short  time  held  the  government  of  New  York. 
When  appointed  to  that  of  Virginia,  he  lingered  for  several 
months  at  his  former  post.  In  the  meantime,  he  sent  his  mili- 
tary secretary.  Captain  Foy,  to  attend  to  the  dispatch  of  busi- 
ness until  his  arrival,  awarding  to  him  a  salary  and  fees  to  be 
paid  by  the  colony. 

The  pride  of  the  Virginians  was  piqued  at  his  lingering  at 
ISTew  York,  as  if  he  preferred  its  gayety  and  luxury  to  the  com- 
parative quiet  and  simplicity  of  Williamsburg.  Their  pride 
was  still  more  piqued  on  his  arrival,  by  what  they  considered 
haughtiness  on  his  part.  The  spirit  of  the  "  Ancient  Domin- 
ion" was  roused,  and  his  lordship  experienced  opposition  at 
his  very  outset. 

The  first  measure  of  the  Assembly,  at  its  opening,  was  to 
demand  by  what  right  he  had  awarded  a  salary  and  fees  to  his 
secretary  without  consulting  it ;  and  to  question  whether  it  was 
authorized  by  the  crown. 

His  lordship  had  the  good  policy  to  rescind  the  unauthorized 
act,  and  in  so  doing  mitigated  the  ire  of  the  Assembly ;  but  he 
lost  no  time  in  proroguing  a  body,  which,  from  various  symp- 
toms, appeared  to  be  too  independent,  and  disposed  to  be  un- 
tractable. 

He  continued  to  prorogue  it  from  time  to  time,  seeking  in 
the  interim  to  conciliate  the  Virginians,  and  soothe  their  irri- 
tated pride.  At  length,  after  repeated  prorogations,  he  was 
compelled  by  circumstances  to  convene  it  on  the  1st  of  March, 
X773. 

Washington  was  prompt  in  his  attendance  on  the  occasion ; 
.  and  foremost  among  the  patriotic  members,  who  eagerly^vailed 


226  i^I^^  OF  WAlsHINaTOl^. 

themselves  of  this  long  wished-for  opportunity  to  legislate  upon 
the  general  affairs  of  the  colonies.  One  of  their  most  important 
measures  was  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  eleven  persons, 
*^  whose  business  it  should  be  to  obtain  the  most  clear  and  au- 
thentic intelligence  of  all  such  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament,  or  proceedings  of  administration,  as  may  relate 
to  or  affect  the  British  colonies,  and  to  maintain  with  their 
sister  colonies  a  correspondence  and  communication.'' 

The  plan  thus  proposed  by  their  "  noble,  patriotic  sister  col- 
ony of  Virginia."  *  was  promptly  adopted  by  the  people  of 
Massachusetts,  and  soon  met  with  general  concurrence.  These 
corresponding  committees,  in  effect,  became  the  executive  power 
of  the  patriot  party,  producing  the  happiest  concert  of  design 
and  action  throughout  the  colonies. 

Notwithstanding  the  decided  part  taken  by  Washington  in 
the  popular  movement,  very  friendly  relations  existed  between 
him  and  Lord  Dunmore.  The  latter  appreciated  his  character, 
and  sought  to  avail  himself  of  his  experience  in  the  affairs  of 
the  province.  It  was  even  concerted  that  Washington  should 
accompany  his  lordship  on  an  extensive  tour,  which  the  latter 
intended  to  make  in  the  course  of  the  summer  along  the  western 
frontier.  A  melancholy  circumstance  occurred  to  defeat  this 
arrangement. 

We  have  spoken  of  Washington's  paternal  conduct  towards 
the  two  children  of  Mrs.  Washington.  The  daughter.  Miss 
Custis,  had  long  been  an  object  of  extreme  solicitude.  She  was 
of  a  fragile  constitution,  and  for  some  time  past  had  been  in 
very  declining  health.  Early  in  the  present  summer,  symp- 
toms indicated  a  rapid  change  for  the  worse.  Washington  was 
absent  from  home  at  the  time.  On  his  return  to  Mount  Ver- 
non, he  found  her  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption. 

Though  not  a  man  given  to  bursts  of  sensibility,  he  is  said 
on  the  present  occasion  to  have  evinced  the  deepest  affliction, 
kneeling  by  her  bedside  and  pouring  out  earnest  prayers  for 
her  recovery.  She  expired  on  the  19th  of  June,  in  the  seven- 
teenth year  of  her  age.  This,  of  course,  put  an  end  to  Wash- 
iugton's  intention  of  accompanying  Lord  Dunmore  to  the  fron- 
tier ;  he  remained  at  home  to  console  Mrs.  Washington  in  her 
affliction — ^furnishing  his  lordship,  however,  with  travelling  hints 
and  directions,  and  recommending  proper  guides.  And  here  we 
will  take  occasion  to  give  a  few  brief  particulars  of  domestic 
affairs  at  Mount  Vernon. 

For  a  long  time  previous  to  the  death  of  Miss  Custis,  her 

*, Boston  Town  Kecords,  -  /^ 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  227 

mother,  despairing  of  her  recovery,  had  centered  her  hopes  in 
her  son,  John  Parke  Custis.  This  rendered  Washington's 
guardianship  of  him  a  delicate  and  difficult  task.  He  was 
lively,  susceptible,  and  impulsive ;  had  an  independent  for- 
tune in  his  own  right,  and  an  indulgent  mother,  ever  ready 
to  plead  in  his  behalf  against  wholesome  discipline.  He  had 
been  placed  under  the  care  and  instruction  of  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  at  Annapolis,  but  was  occasionally  at  home,  mount- 
ing his  horse,  and  taking  a  part,  while  yet  a  boy,  in  the  fox- 
hunts at  Mount  Vernon.  His  education  had  consequently 
been  irregular  and  imperfect,  and  not  such  as  Washington 
would  have  enforced  had  he  possessed  over  him  the  absolute 
authority  of  a  father.  Shortly  after  the  return  of  the  latter 
from  his  tour  to  the  Ohio,  he  was  concerned  to  find  that  there 
was  an  idea  entertained  of  sending  the  lad  abroad,  though  but 
little  more  than  sixteen  years  of  age,  to  travel  under  the  care 
of  his  clerical  tutor.  Through  his  judicious  interference,  the 
travelling  scheme  was  postponed,  and  it  was  resolved  to  give 
the  young  gentleman's  mind  the  benefit  of  a  little  preparatory 
home  culture. 

Little  more  than  a  year  elapsed  before  the  sallying  impulses 
of  the  youth  had  taken  a  new  direction.  He  was  in  love  ;  what 
was  more,  he  was  engaged  to  the  object  of  his  passion,  and  on 
the  high  road  to  matrimony. 

Washington  now  opposed  himself  to  premature  marriage  as 
he  had  done  to  premature  travel.  A  correspondence  ensued 
between  him  and  the  young  lady's  father,  Benedict  Calvert, 
Esq.  The  match  was'a  satisfactory  one  to  all  parties,  but  it  was 
agreed  that  it  was  expedient  for  the  youth  to  pass  a  year  or  two 
previously  at  college.  Washington  accordingly  accompanied  him 
to  New  York,  and  placed  him  under  the  care  of  the  E-ev.  Dr. 
Cooper,  president  of  King's  (now  Columbia)  College,  to  pursue  his 
studies  in  that  institution.  All  this  occurred  before  the  death 
of  his  sister.  Within  a  year  after  that  melancholy  event,  he 
became  impatient  for  a  union  with  the  object  of  his  choice.  His 
mother,  now  more  indulgent  than  ever  to  this,  her  only  child, 
yielded  her  consent,  and  Washington  no  longer  made  opposi- 
tion. 

"  It  has  been  against  my  wishes,"  writes  the  latter  to  Pres- 
ident Cooper,  "that  he  should  quit  college  in  order  that  he 
may  soon  enter  into  a  new  scene  of  life,  which  I  think  he  would 
be  much  fitter  for  some  years  hence  than  now.  But  having  his 
own  inclination,  the  desires  of  his  mother,  and  the  acquiescence 
of  almost  all  his  relatives  to  encounter,  I  did  not  care,  as  he  is 


228  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON". 

the  last  of  the  family,  to  push  my  opposition  too  far  ;  I  have, 
therefore,  submitted  to  a  kind  of  necessity/' 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  on  the  3d  of  February,  1774,  be- 
fore the  bridegroom  was  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

We  are  induced  to  subjoin  extracts  of  two  letters  from  Washington 
relative  to  young  Custis.  The  first  gives  his  objections  to  premature 
travel ;  the  second  to  premature  matrimony.  Both  are  worthy  of  con- 
sideration in  this  country,  where  our  young  people  have  such  a  general 
disposition  to  "go  ahead." 

To  the  Beverend  Jonathan  Boucher  {the  tutor  of  young  Custis). 

.  .  .  .  "  I  cannot  help  giving  it  as  my  opinion,  that  his  educa- 
tion, however  advanced  it  may  be  for  a  youth  of  his  age,  is  by  no  means 
ripe  enough  for  a  travelling  tour;  not  that  I  think  his  becoming  a  mere 
scholar  is  a  desirable  education  for  a  gentleman,  but  I  conceive  a  knowl- 
edge of  books  is  the  basis  upon  which  all  other  knowledge  is  to  be 
built,  and  in  travelling  he  is  to  become  acquainted  witlimen  and  things, 
rather  than  books.  At  present,  however  well  versed  he  may  be  in  the 
principles  of  the  Latin  language  (which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as  he 
began  the  study  of  it  as  soon  as  he  could  speak),  he  is  unacquainted 
with  several  of  the  classic  authors  that  might  be  useful  to  him.  He  is 
ignorant  of  Greek,  the  advantages  of  learning  which  I  do  not  pretend 
to  judge  of;  and  he  knows  nothing  of  French,  whicli  is  absolutely  nec- 
essary to  him  as  a  traveller.  He  has  little  or  no  acquaintance  with 
arithmetic,  and  is  totally  ignorant  of  the  mathematics — than  which,  at 
least,  so  much  of  them  as  relates  to  surveying,  nothing  can  be  more 
essentially  necessary  to  any  man  possessed  of  a  large  landed  estate,  the 
bounds  of  some  part  or  other  of  which  are  always  in  controversy.  Now 
whether  he  has  time  between  this  and  next  spring  to  acquire  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  these  studies,  I  leave  you  to  judge;  as,  also,  whether  a 
boy  of  seventeen  years  old  (which  will  be  his  age  next  November),  can 
have  any  just  notions  of  the  end  and  design  of  travelling.  I  have  al- 
ready given  it  as  my  opinion  that  it  would  be  precipitating  this  event, 
unless  he  were  to  go  immediately  to  the  university  for  a  couple  of  years; 
in  which  case  he  could  see  nothing  of  America,  which  might  be  a  dis- 
advantage to  him,  as  it  is  to  be  expected  that  every  man,  who  travels 
with  a  view  of  observing  the  laws  and  customs  of  other  countries, 
should  be  able  to  give  some  description  of  the  situation  and  government 
of  his  own." 


The  following  are  extracts  from  the  letter  to  Benedict  Calvert,  Esq., 
the  young  lady's  father: — 


"  I  write  to  you  on  a  subject  of  importance,  and  of  no  small  emba; 
rassraent  to  me.  My  son-in-law  and  ward,  Mr.  Custis,  has,  as  I  hav( 
been  informed,  paid  his  addresses  to  your  second  daughter;  and  haviu] 
made  some  progress  in  her  affections,  has  solicited  her  in  marriagi 
How  far  a  union  of  this  sort  may  be  agreeable  to  you,  you  best  can  tell; 
but  I  should  think  myself  wanting  in  candor,  were  ijiiot  to  confess  that 
Miss  Nelly's  amiable  qualities  are  acknowledged  on-all  hands,  and^that, 
an  alliance  with  your  family  will  be. pleasing  to.his. 


i 

iiS 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  229 

"  This  acknowledgment,  being  made,  you  must  permit  me  to  add,  sir, 
that  at  this,  or  in  any  short  time,  liis  youth,  inexperience,  and  unri- 
pened  education  are,  and  will  be,  insuperable  obstacles,  in  my  opinion, 
to  the  completion  of  the  marriage.  As  his  guardian,  I  conceive  it  my 
indispensable  duty  to  endeavor  to  carry  liim  through  a  regular  course 
of  education  (many  branches  of  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  he  is  totally 
deficient  in),  and  to  guide  his  youth  to  a  more  advanced  age,  before  an 
event,  on  which  his  own  peace  and  the  happiness  of  another  are  to  de- 
pend, takes  place If  the  affection  which  they  have  avowed 

for  each  other  is  fixed  upon  a  solid  basis,  it  will  receive  no  diminution 
in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years;  in  which  time  he  may  prosecute 
his  studies,  and  thereby  render  himself  more  deserving  of  the  lady,  and 
useful  to  society.  If,  unfortunately,  as  they  are  both  young,  there 
should  be  an  abatement  of  affection  on  either  side,  or  both,  it  had  bet- 
ter precede  than  follow  marriage. 

'•Delivering  my  sentiments  thus  freely,  will  not,  I  hope,  lead  you  in- 
to a  belief  that  I  am  desirous  of  breaking  off  the  match.  To  postpone 
it  is  all  I  have  in  view;  for  I  shall  recommend  to  the  young  gentleman 
with  the  warmth  that  becomes  a  man  of  lionor,  to  consider  himself  as 
much  engaged  to  your  daughter,  as  if  the  indissoluble  knot  were  tied; 
and  as  the  surest  means  of  effecting  this,  to  apply  himself  closely  to  his 
studies,  by  which  he  will,  in  a  great  measure,  avoid  those  little  flirta- 
tions with  other  young  ladies,  that  may,  by  dividing  the  attention,  con- 
tribute not  a  little  to  divide  the  affection." 


230  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTEE  XXXIII. 

LORD  north's    bill  FAVORING   THE   EXPORTATION    OF  TEAS. — • 

SHIPS    FREIGHTED  WITH  TEA  TO  THE  COLONIES. SENT  BACK 

FROM    SOME  OF  THE    PORTS. TEA   DESTROYED  AT  BOSTON. — 

PASSAGE  OF  THE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL. SESSION  OF  THE  HOUSE 

OF    BURGESSES. SPLENDID    OPENING. BURST    OF    INDIGNA- 
TION AT  THE  PORT  BILL. HOUSE  DISSOLVED. RESOLUTIONS 

AT    THE    RALEIGH    TAVERN. PROJECT    OF  A    GENERAL   CON- 
GRESS.  WASHINGTON      AND     LORD      DUNMORE. THE     PORT 

BILL     GOES     INTO     EFFECT. GENERAL    GAGE     AT     BOSTON — 

LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT. 

The  general  covenant  throughout  the  colonies  against  the 
use  of  taxed  tea,  had  operated  disastrously  against  the  interests 
of  the  East  India  Company,  and  produced  an  immense  accumula- 
tion of  the  proscribed  article  in  their  warehouses.  To  remedy 
tl^^s,  Lord  North  brought  in  a  bill  (1773),  by  which  the  com- 
pany were  allowed  to  export  their  teas  from  England  to  any 
part  whatever,  without  paying  export  duty.  This,  by  enabling 
them  to  offer  their  teas  at  a  low  price  in  the  colonies  would,  he 
supposed,  tempt  the  Americans  to  purchase  large  quanities,  thiis 
relieving  the  Company,  and  at  the  same  time  benefiting  the 
revenue  by  the  impost  duty.  Confiding  in  the  wisdom  of  this 
policy,  the  Company  disgorged  their  warehouses,  freighted 
several  ships  with  tea,  and  sent  them  to  various  parts  of  the 
colonies.  This  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  One  sentiment, 
one  determination,  pervaded  the  whole  contiment.  Taxation 
was  to  receive  its  definite  blow.  Whoever  submitted  to  it  was 
an  enemy  to  his  country.  Erom  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
the  ships  were  sent  back,  unladen,  to  London.  In  Charleston 
the  tea  was  unloaded,  and  stored  away  in  cellars  and  other 
places,  where  it  perished.  At  Boston  the  action  was  still  more 
decisive.  The  ships  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Some  small 
parcels  of  tea  were  brought  on  shore,  but  the  sale  of  them  was 
prohibited.  The  captains  of  the  ships,  seeing  the  desperate 
state  of  the  case,  would  have  made  sail  back  for  England 
but  they  could  not  obtain  the  consent  of  the  consignees,  a 
clearance  at  the  custom-house,  or  a  passport  from  the  governor 


LIF:E  of*  WASHINGTON.  231 

to  clear  the  fort.  It  was  evident  the  tea  was  to  be  forced  upon 
lie  people  of  Boston,  and  the  principle  of  taxation  established. 

To  settle  the  matter  completely,  and  prove  that,  on  a  point 
of  principle,  they  were  not  to  be  trifled  with  a  number  of  the 
inhabitants,  disguised  as  Indians,  boarded  the  ships  in  the  night 
(18th  December),  broke  open  all  the  chests  of  tea,  and  emptied 
the  contents  into  the  sea.  This  was  no  rash  and  intemper- 
ate proceeding  of  a  mob,  but  the  well-considered,  though  re- 
solute act  of  sober,  respectable  citizens,  men  of  reflection,  but 
determination.  The  whole  was  done  calmly,  and  in  perfect 
order  ;  after  which  the  actors  in  the  scene  dispersed  without 
tumult,  and  returned  quietly  to  their  homes. 

The  general  oppositon  of  the  colonies  to  the  principle  of  taxation 
had  given  great  annoyance  to  government,  but  this  individual 
act  concentrated  all  its  wrath  upon  Boston.  A  bill  was  forth- 
with passed  in  Parliament  (commonly  called  the  Boston  port 
bill),  by  which  all  lading  and  unlading  of  goods,  wares,  and  mer- 
chandise, were  to  cease  in  that  town  and  harbor,  on  and  after 
the  4th  of  June,  and  the  oflicers  of  the  customs  to  be  transfer- 
red to  Salem. 

Another  law,  passed  soon  after,  altered  the  charter  of  the  prov- 
ince, decreeing  that  all  counselors,  judges  and  magistrates, 
should  be  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  hold  office  during  the 
royal  pleasure. 

This  was  followed  by  a  third,  intended  for  the  suppressiorf  of 
riots ;  and  providing  that  any  person  indicted  for  murder,  or 
other  capital  offence,  committed  in  aiding  the  magistracy, 
might  be  sent  by  the  governor  to  some  other  colony,  or  to  Great 
Britain,  for  trial. 

Such  was  the  bolt  of  Parliamentary  wrath  fulminated  against 
the  devoted  town  of  Boston.  Before  it  fell  there  was  a  session 
in  May,  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses.  The  social  posi- 
tion of  Lord  Dunmore  had  been  strengthened  in  the  province 
by  the  arrival  of  his  lady,  and  a  numerous  family  of  sons  and 
daughters.  The  old  Virginia  aristocracy  had  vied  with  each 
other  in  hospitable  attention  to  the  family.  A  court  circle  had 
sprung  up.  E-egulations  had  been  drawn  up  by  a  herald,  and 
published  officially,  determining  the  rank  and  precedence  of 
civil  and  military  officers  and  their  wives.  The  aristocracy  of 
the  Ancient  Dominion  was  furbishing  up  its  former  splendor. 
Carriages  and  four  rolled  into  the  streets  of  Williamsburg,  with 
horses  handsomely  caparisoned,  bringing  the  wealthy  planters 
and  their  families  to  the  seat  of  government. 

Washington  arrived  in  Williamsburg  on  the  16th,  and  dined 
with  the    governor   on  the   day  of  his    arrival,  having  a   dis- 


23^  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

tinguished  pdsition  in  the  court  circle,  and  being  still  on  terms 
of  intimacy  with  his  lordship.  The  House  of  Burgesses  was 
opened  in  form,  and  one  of  its  first  measures  was  an  address  of 
congratulation  to  the  governor,  on  the  arrival  of  his  lady.  It 
was  followed  up  by  an  agreement  among  the  members  to  give 
her  ladyship  a  splendid  ball,  on  the  27th  of  the  month. 

All  things  were  going  on  smoothly  and  smilingly,  when  a 
letter,  received  through  the  corresponding  committee,  brought 
intelligence  of  the  vindictive  measure  of  Parliament,  by  which 
the  port  of  Boston  was  to  be  closed  on  the  approaching  1st  of 
June. 

The  letter  was  read  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  produced 
a  general  burst  of  indignation.  All  other  business  was  thrown 
aside,  and  this  became  the  sole  subject  of  discussion.  A  protest 
against  this  and  other  recent  acts  of  Parliament  was  entered 
upon  the  journal  of  the  House,  and  a  resolution  was  adopted, 
on  the  24th  of  May,  setting  apart  the  1st  of  June  as  a  day  of 
fasting,  prayer,  and  humiliation ;  in  which  the  divine  interposi- 
tion was  to  be  implored,  to  avert  the  heavy  calamity  threaten- 
ing destruction  to  their  rights,  and  all  the  evils  of  civil  war ; 
and  to  give  the  people  one  heart  and  one  mind  in  firmly  oppos- 
ing every  injury  to  American  liberties. 

On  the  following  morning,  while  the  Burgesses  were  engaged 
in  animated  debate,  they  were  summoned  to  attend  Lord  Dun- 
more  in  the  council  chamber,  where  he  made  them  the  following 
laconic  speech :  "  Mr.  Sj^eaker,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses :  I  have  in  my  hand  a  paper,  published  by  order  of 
your  House,  conceived  in  such  terms  as  reflect  highly  upon  His 
Majesty,  and  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  which  makes  it 
necessary  for  me  to  dissolve  you,  and  you  are  dissolved  accord- 
ingly. 

As  on  a  former  occasion,  the  assembly,  though  dissolved,  was 
not  dispersed.  The  members  adjourned  to  the  long  room  of  the 
old  Kaleigh  tavern,  and  passed  resolutions,  denouncing  the 
Boston  port  bill  as  a  most  dangerous  attempt  to  destroy  the 
constitutional  liberty  and  rights  of  all  North  America ;  recom- 
mending their  countrymen  to  desist  from  the  use,  not  merely 
of  tea,  but  of  all  kinds  of  East  Indian  commodities  ;  pronouncing 
an  attack  on  one  of  the  colonies,  to  enforce  arbitrary  taxes,  an 
attack  on  all ;  and  orde.ring  the  committee  of  corespondence  to 
communicate  with  the  other  corresponding  committees,  on  the 
expediency  of  appointing  deputies  from  the  several  colonies  of 
British  America,  to  meet  annually  in  General  Congress,  at  such 
place  as  might  be  deemed  expedient,  to  deliberate  on  such 
measures  as  the  united  interests  of  the  colonies  might  require. 


LIFE  OF  WASBINGTOK.  233 

This  was  the  first  i;ecomniendation  of  a  Croneral  Congress  by 
any  public  assembly,  though  it  had  been  previously  proposed  in 
town  meetings  at  New  York  and  Boston.  A  resolution  to  the 
same  effect  was  passed  in  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  before  it 
was  aware  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Virginia  Legislature.  The 
measure  recommended  met  with  prompt  and  general  concurrence 
throughout  the  colonies,  and  the  fifth  day  of  September  next  en- 
suing was  fixed  upon  for  the  first  Congress,  which  was  to  be 
held  at  Philadelphia. 

Notwithstanding  Lord  Dunmore's  abrupt  dissolution  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  the  members  still  continued  on  courteous 
terms  with  him,  and  the  ball  which  they  had  decreed  early  in 
the  session  in  honor 'of  Lady  Dunmore,  was  celebrated  on  the 
27th  with  unwavering  gallantry. 

As  to  Washington,  widely  as  he  differed  from  Lord  Dunmore 

on  important  points  of  policy,  his  intimacy  with  him  remained 

^uninterrupted.     By  memorandums  in  his  diary  it  appears  that 

iJie  dined  and  passed  the  evening  at  his  lordship's  on  the  25th, 

the  very  day  of  the  meeting  at  the   Raleigh  tavern  ;  that   he 

rode  out  with  him  to  his  farm,  and  breakfasted  there   with  him 

[on  the  26th,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  27th  attended  the  ball 

Igiven  to  her  ladyship.     Such  was  the  well-bred  decorum   that 

[seemed  to  quiet  the  turbulence  of  popular  excitement,  without 

[checking  the  full  and  firm  expression  of  popular  opinion. 

On  the  29th,  two  days  after  the  ball,  letters  arrived  from 
Boston  giving  the  proceedings  of  a  town-meeting,  recommend- 
ing that  a  general  league  should  be  formed  throughout  the 
jolonies  suspending  all  trade  with  Great  Britain.  But  twenty- 
Ive  members  of  the  late  House  of  Burgesses,  including  Wash- 
fington,  were  at  that  time  remaining  in  Williamsburg.  They 
held  a  meeting  on  the  following  day,  at  which  Peyton  Randolph 
presided  as  moderator.  After  some  discussion  it  was  deter- 
mined to  issue  a  printed  circular,  bearing  their  signatures,  and 
calling  a  meeting  of  all  the  members  of  the  late  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, on  the  1st  of  August,  to  take  into  consideration  this 
measure  of  a  general  league.  The  circular  recommended  them 
also,  to  collect,  in  the  meantime,  the  sense  of  their  respective 
counties. 

Washington  was  still  at  Williamsburg  on  the  1st  of  June, 
the  day  when  the  port  bill  was  to  be  enforced  at  Boston.  It 
was  ushered  in  by  the  tolling  of  bells,  and  observed  by  all  true 
patriots  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  humiliation.  Washington  notes 
in  his  diary  that  he  fasted  rigidly,  and  attended  the  services 
appointed  in  the  church.  Still  his  friendly  intercourse  with 
the  Dunmore  family  was  continued  during  the  remainder  of 


234  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

his  sojourn  in  "Williamsburg,  where  he* was  detained  by  busi- 
ness until  the  20th,  when  he  set  out  on  his  return  to  Mount 
Vernon. 

In  the  meantime  the  Boston  port  bill  had  been  carried  into 
effect.  On  the  1st  of  June  the  harbor  of  Boston  was  closed  at 
noon,  and  all  business  ceased.  The  two  other  Parliamentary 
acts  altering  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  were  to  be  enforced. 
No  public  meetings,  excepting  the  annual  town  meetings  in 
March  and  May,  were  to  be  held  without  permission  of  the 
governor. 

General  Thomas  Gage  had  recently  been  appointed  to  the 
military  command  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  carrying  out  of 
these  offensive  acts.  He  was  the  same  officer  who,  as  lieutenant- 
colonel,  had  led  the  advance  guard  on  the  field  of  Braddock's 
defeat.  Fortune  had  since  gone  well  with  him.  Rising  in  the 
service,  he  had  been  governor  of  Montreal,  and  had  succeeded 
Amherst  in  the  command  of  the  British  forces  on  this  continent. 
He  was  linked  to  the  country  also  by  domestic  ties,  having 
married  into  one  of  the  most  respectable  families  of  New 
Jersey.  In  the  various  situations  in  which  lie  had  hitherto 
been  placed  he  had  won  esteem,  and  rendered  himself  popular. 
Not  much  was  expected  from  him  in  his  present  post  by  those 
who  knew  him  well.  William  Smith,  the  historian,  speaking  of 
him  to  Adams,  "  Gage,"  said  he,  "was  a  good-natured,  peaceable, 
sociable  man  while  here  (in  New  York),  but  altogether  unfit 
for  a  governor  of  Massachusetts.  He  will  lose  all  the  character 
he  has  acquired  as  a  man,  a  gentleman,  and  a  general,  and 
dwindle  down  into  a  mere  scribbling  governor — a  mere  Bernard 
or  Hutchinson. 

With  all  Gage's  experience  in  America,  he  had  formed  a 
most  erroneous  opinion  of  the  character  of  the  people.  "  The 
Americans,"  said  he  to  the  king,  "  will  be  lions  only  as  long  as 
the  English  are  lambs ;"  and  he  engaged,  with  five  regiments, 
to  keep  Boston  quiet ! 

The  manner  in  which  his  attempts  to  enforce  the  recent  acts 
of  Parliament  were  resented,  showed  how  egregiously  he  was 
in  error.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  Assembly,  a  paper  was  cir- 
culated through  the  province  by  the  committee  of  correspond-, 
ence,  entitled  "  a  solemn  league  and  covenant,"  the  subscribers 
to  which  bound  themselves  to  break  off  all  intercourse  with 
Great  Britain  from  the  1st  of  August,  until  the  colony  should, 
be  restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  chartered  rights ;  and  to  re-^ 
nounce  all  dealings  with  those  who  should  refuse  to  enter  inl 
this  compact. 

The  very  title  of  league  an4  covenant  had  an  ominous  sounc 


LIFE  01^  WASBH^QTON.  235 

and  startled  General  Gage.  He  issued  a  proclamation,  denounc- 
ing it  as  illegal  and  traitorous.  Furthermore,  he  encamped  a 
force  of  infantry  and  artillery  on  Boston  Common,  as  if  pre- 
pared to  enact  the  lion.  An  alarm  spread  through  the  adjacent 
country.  "  Boston  is  to  be  blockaded !  Boston  is  to  be  reduced 
to  obedience  by  force  or  famine  ! "  The  spirit  of  the  yeomanry 
was  aroused.  They  sent  in  word  to  the  inhabitants  promising 
to  come  to  their  aid  if  necessary ;  and  urging  them  to  stand 
fast  to  the  faith.  Affairs  were  coming  to  a  crisis.  It  was  pre- 
dicted that  the  new  acts  of  Parliament  would  bring  on  "  a  most 
important  and  decisive  trial." 


CHAPTEE  XXXIV. 

^WASHINGTON  CHAIRMAN  OF  A  POLITICAL  MEETING. CORRE- 
SPONDENCE WITH  BRYAN  FAIRFAX.  PATRIOTIC  RESOLU- 
TIONS.— Washington's  opinions  on  public  affairs. — non- 
importation   SCHEME. CONVENTION  AT  WILLIAMSBURG. 

WASHINGTON  APPOINTED  A  DELEGATE  TO  THE  GENERAL  CON- 
GRESS.  LETTER  FROM  BRYAN    FAIRFAX. PERPLEXITIES  OF 

GENERAL  GAGE  AT  BOSTON. 

Shortly  after  Washington's  return  to  Mount  Vernon,  in  the 
[latter  part  of  June,  he  presided  as  a  moderator  at  a  meeting  of 
[the  inhabitants  of  Fairfax  County,  wherein,  after  the  recent 
acts  of  Parliament  had  been  discussed,  a  committee  was  ap- 
' .pointed,  with  himself  as  chairman,  to  draw  up  resolutions  ex- 
'pressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the  present  meeting,  and  to  report 
I  the  same  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  county,  to  be  held  in  the 
court-house  on  the  18th  of  July. 

The  course  that  public  measures  were  taking  shocked  the 
loyal  feelings  of  Washington's  valued  friend,  Bryan  Fairfax,  of 
Tarlston  Hall,  a  younger  brother  of  George  William,  who  was 
absent  in  England.  He  was  a  man  of  liberal  sentiments,  but 
attached  to  the  ancient  rule  ;  and,  in  a  letter  to  Washington, 
advised  a  petition  to  the  throne,  which  would  give  Parliament 
an  opportunity  to  repeal  the  offensive  acts. 

"  I  would  heartily  join  you  in  your  political  sentiments," 
writes  Washington  in  reply,  as  far  as  relates  to  a  humble  and 
dutiful  petition  to  the  throne,  provided  there  was  the  most  dis- 
tant hope   of  success.     But  have  we  not  tried  this  already  ? 


^36  LIFE  OP  WASHINGTON, 

Have  we  not  addressed  the  lords,  and  remonstrated  to  the  com- 
mons  ?  And  to  what  end  ?  Does  it  not  appear  as  clear  as  the 
sun  in  its  meridian  brightness  that  there  is  a  regular,  system- 
atic plan  to  fix  the  right  and  practice  of  taxation  upon  us  ?  .  .  .  . 
Is  not  the  attack  upon  the  liberty  and  property  of  the  people  of 
Boston,  before  restitution  of  the  loss  to  the  India  Compan}^  was 
demanded,  a  plain  and  self-evident  proof  of  what  they  are  aim- 
ing at  ?  Do  not  the  subsequent  bills  for  depriving  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  of  its  charter,  and  for  transporting  offenders  to 
other  colonies  or  to  Great  Britain  for  trial,  where  it  is  impossi- 
ble, from  the  nature  of  things,  that  justice  can  be  obtained, 
convince  us  that  the  administration  is  determined  to  stick  at 
nothing  to  carry  its  point  ?  Ought  we  not,  then,  to  par  our 
virtue  and  fortitude  to  the  severest  tests  ?  " 

The  committee  met  according  to  appointment,  with  Wash- 
ington as  chairman.  The  resolutions  framed  at  the  meeting  in- 
sisted, as  usual,  on  the  right  of  self-government,  and  the  prin- 
ciple that  taxation  and  representation  were  in  their  nature  in- 
separable. That  the  various  acts  of  Parliament  for  raising 
revenue ;  taking  away  trials  by  jury ;  ordering  that  persons 
might  be  tried  in  a  different  country  than  that  in  which  the 
cause  of  accusation  originated ;  closing  the  port  of  Boston ;  ab- 
rogating the  charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  etc.,  etc., — were  all 
part  of  a  premeditated  design  and  system  to  introduce  arbitrary 
government  into  the  colonies.  That  the  sudden  and  repeated 
dissolutions  of  Assemblies  whenever  they  presumed  to  examine 
the  illegality  of  ministerial  mandates,  or  deliberated  on  the  vio- 
lated rights  of  their  constituents,  were  part  of  the  same  system, 
and  calculated  and  intended  to  drive  the  people  of  the  colonies 
to  a  state  of  desperation,  and  to  dissolve  the  compact  by  which 
their  ancestors  bound  themselves  and  their  posterity  to  remain 
dependent  on  the  British  crown.  The  resolutions,  furthermore, 
recommended  the  most  perfect  union  and  co-operation  among 
the  colonies ;  solemn  covenants  with  respect  to  non-importation 
and  non-intercourse,  and  a  renunciation  of  all  dealings  with  any 
colony,  town,  or  province,  that  should  refuse  to  agree  to  the 
plan  adopted  by  the  General  Congress. 

They  also  recommended  a  dutiful  petition  and  remonstrance 
from  the  Congress  to  the  king,  asserting  their  constitutional 
rights  and  privileges ;  lamenting  the  necessity  of  entering  into 
measures  that  might  be  displeasing ;  declaring  their  attachment 
to  his  person,  family,  and  government,  and  their  desire  to  con- 
tinue in  dependence  upon  Great  Britain ;  beseeching  him  not 
to  reduce  his  faithful  subjects  of  America  to  desperation,  and  to 
reflect,  that/rom  our  sovereign  there  can  he  but  one  appeal. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  23t 

These  resolution  are  the  more  worthy  of  note  as  expressive  of 
the  opinions  and  feelings  of  Washington  at  this  eventful  tiniQ, 
if  not  being  entirely  dictated  by  him.  The  last  sentence  is  of 
awful  import,  suggesting  the  possibility  of  being  driven  to  an 
appeal  to  arms. 

Bryan  Pairfax,  who  was  aware  of  their  purport,  addressed  a 
long  letter  to  Washington,  on  the  17th  of  July,  the  day  pre- 
ceding that  in  which  they  were  to  be  reported  by  the  commit- 
tee, stating  his  objections  to  several  of  them,  and  requesting 
that  his  letter  might  be  publicly  read.  The  letter  was  not  re- 
ceived until  after  the  committee  had  gone  to  the  court-house  on 
the  18th,  with  the  resolutions  revised,  corrected,  and  ready  to 
be  reported.  Washington  glanced  over  the  letter  hastily,  and 
handed  it  round  to  several  of  the  gentlemen  present.  They, 
with  one  exception,  advised  that  it  should  not  be  publicly  read, 
as  it  was  not  likely  to  make  any  converts,  and  was  repugnant, 
as  some  thought,  to  every  principle  they  were  contending  for. 
Washington  forbore,  therefore,  to  give  it  any  further  publicity. 

The  resolutions  reported  by  the  committee  were  adopted,  and 
Washington  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  represent  the  county  at 
the  General  Convention  of  the  province,  to  be  held  at  Williams- 
burg on  the  1st  of  August.  After  the  meeting  had  adjourned, 
he  felt  doubtful  whether  Fairfax  might  not  be  dissatisfied  that 
his  letter  had  not  been  read,  as  he  requested,  to  the  county  at 
large ;  he  wrote  to  him,  therefore,  explaining  the  circumstances 
which  prevented  it ;  at  the  same  time  replying  to  some  of  the 
objections  which  Fairfax  had  made  to  certain  of  the  resolutions. 
He  reiterated  his  belief  that  an  appeal  would  be  ineffectual. 
"  What  is  it  we  are  contending  against  ?  "  asked  he.  . "  Is  it 
against  paying  the  duty  of  threepence  per  pound  on  tea  because 
burdensome  ?  No,  it  is  the  right  only,  that  we  have  all  along 
disputed ;  and  to  this  end,  we  have  already  petitioned  His  Maj- 
esty in  as  humble  and  dutiful  a  manner  as  subjects  could  do. 
Kay,  more,  we  applied  to  the  House  of  Lords  and  House  of 
Commons  in  their  different  legislative  capacities,  seating  forth 
that,  as  Englishmen,  we  could  not  be  deprived  of  this  essential 
and  valuable  part  of  our  constitution 

The  conduct  of  the  Boston  people  could  not  justify  the  rigor 
of  their  measures,  unless  there  had  been  a  requisition  of  pay- 
ment, and  refusal  of  it ;  nor  did  that  conduct  require  an  act  to 
deprive  the  government  of  Massachusetts  Bay  of  their  charter, 
or  to  exempt  offenders  from  trial  in  the  places  where  offenses 
were  committed,  as  there  was  not,  nor  could  there  be,  a  single 
instance  produced  to  manifest  the  necessity  of  it.  Are  not  all 
these  things  evident  proofs  of  a  fixed  and  uniform  plan  to  tax 


238  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

us  ?  If  we  want  further  proofs,  do  not  all  the  debates  in  the 
House  of  Commons  serve  to  confirm  this  ?  And  has  not  Gen- 
eral Gage's  conduct  since  his  arrival,  in  stopping  the  address  of 
his  council,  and  publishing  a  proclamation,  more  becoming  a 
Turkish  bashaw  than  an  English  governor,  declaring  it  treason 
to  associate  in  any  manner  by  which  the  commerce  of  Great 
Britain  is  to  be  affected, — has  not  this  exhibited  an  unexampled 
testimony  of  the  most  despotic  system  of  tyranny  that  ever  was 
practiced  in  a  free  government  ?  " 

The  popular  measure  on  which  Washington  laid  the  greatest 
stress  as  a  means  of  obtaining  redress  from  government,  was 
the  non-importation  scheme  ;  "  for  I  am  convinced,"  said  he, 
"  as  much  as  of  my  existence,  that  there  is  no  relief  for  us  but 
in  their  distress ;  and  I  think — at  least  I  hope — that  there  is 
public  virtue  enough  left  among  us  to  deny  ourselves  everything 
but  the  bare  necessaries  of  life  to  accomplish  this  end."  At  the 
same  time,  he  forcibly  condemned  a  suggestion  that  remittances 
to  England  should  be  withheld.  "  While  we  are  accusing  others 
of  injustice,"  said  he,  "  we  should  be  just  ourselves  ;  and  how 
this  can  be  whilst  we  owe  a  considerable  debt,  and  refuse  pay- 
ment of  it  to  Great  Britain  is  to  me  inconceivable  :'  nothing  but 
the  last  extremity  can  justify  it." 

On  the  1st  of  August  the  convention  of  representatives  from 
all  parts  of  Virginia  assembled  at  Williamsburg.  Washington 
appeared  on  behalf  of  Fairfax  County,  and  presented  the  resolu- 
tions already  cited,  as  'the  sense  of  his  constituents.  He  is  said, 
by  one  who  was  present,  to  have  spoken  in  support  of  them  in 
a  strain  of  uncommon  eloquence,  which  shows  how  his  latent 
ardor  had  been  excited  on  the  occasion,  as  eloquence  was  not  in 
general  among  his  attributes.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  he 
was  roused  to  an  unusual  pitch  of  enthusiasm,  for  he  is  said  to 
have  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  raise  one  thousand  men,  sub- 
sist them  at  his  own  expense,  and  march  at  their  head  to  the 
relief  of  Boston."* 

The  Convention  was  six  days  in  session.  Resolutions,  in  the 
same  spirit  with  those  passed  in  Fairfax  County,  were  adopted, 
and  Peyton  Bandolph,  Eichard  Henry  Lee,  George  Washington, 
Patrick  Henry,  Bichard  Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Edmund 
Pendleton,  were  appointed  delegates,  to  represent  the  people  of 
Virginia  in  the  General  Congress.  \ 

Shortly  after  Washington's  return  from  Williamsburg  he  re- 
ceived a  reply  from  Bryan  Fairfax  to  his  last  letter.  Fairfax, 
who  was  really  a  man  of  liberal  views,  seemed  anxious  to  vindi- 

*  See  information  given  to  the  elder  Adams,  by  Mr.  Lynch  of  Sout]^ 
Car9lina,~J.dams'  Lianj.  "  -'         ^ 


LIFE  OF  WASJimGTOlsr.  23D 

cate  himself  from  any  suspicion  of  the  contrary.  *  In  adverting' 
to  the  partial  suppression  of  his  letter,  by  some  of  the  gentlemen 
of  the  committee  :  "  I  am  uneasy  to  find,"  writes  he,  "  that  any 
one  should  look  upon  the  letter  sent  down  as  repugnant  to  the 
principles  we  are  contending  for  ;  and,  therefore,  when  you  have 
leisure,  I  shall  take  it  as  a  favor  if  3^ou  will  let  me  know  wherein 
it  was  thought  so.  I  beg  leave  to  look  upon  you  as  a  friend,  and 
it  is  a  great  relief  to  unbosom  one's  thoughts  to  a  friend.  Be- 
sides, the  information  and  the  correction  of  my  errors,  which  I 
may  obtain  from  a  correspondence,  are  great  inducements  to  it. 
For  I  am  convinced  that  no  man  in  the  colony  wishes  its  pros- 
perity more,  would  go  greater  lengths  to  serve  it,  or  is,  at  the 
same  time,  a  better  subject  to  the  crown.  Pray  excuse  these 
compliments,  they  may  be  tolerable  from  a  friend."  * 

The  hurry  of  various  occupations  prevented  Washington,  in 
his  reply,  from  entering  into  any  further  discussion  of  the  pop- 
ular theme.  "  I  can  only  in  general  add,"  said  he,  "  that  an  in- 
nate spirit  of  freedom  first  told  me  that  the  measures  which  the 
administration  have  for  some  time  been,  and  now  are  violently 
pursuing,  are  opposed  to  every  principle  of  natural  justice ; 
whilst  much  abler  heads  than  my  own  have  fully  convinced  me, 
that  they  are  not  only  repugnant  to  natural  right,  but  subver- 
sive of  the  laws  and  constitution  of  Great  Britain  itself 

I  shall  conclude  by  remarking  that,  if  you  disavow  the  right  of 
Parliament  to  tax  us,  unrepresented  as  we  are,  we  only  difier  in 
the  mode  of  opposition,  and  this  difference  principally  arises 
from  your  belief  that  they  (the  Parliament  I  mean),  want  a  de- 
cent opportunity  to  repeal  the  acts  ;  whilst  I  am  fully  convinced 
that  there  has  been  a  regular  systematic  plan  to  enforce  them, 
and  that  nothing  but  unanimity  and  firmness  in  the  colonies, 
which  they  did  not  expect,  can  prevent  it.  By  the  best  advices 
from  Boston,  it  seems  that  General  Gage  is  exceedingly  discon- 
certed at  the  quiet  and  steady  conduct  of  the  people  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  and  at  the  measures  pursuing  by  the  other 
governments.  I  dare  say  he  expected  to  force  those  oppressed 
people  into  compliance,  or  irritate  them  to  acts  of  violence  before 
this,  for  a  more  colorable  pretense  of  ruling  that  and  the  other 
colonies  with  a  high  hand." 

Washington  had  formed  a  correct  opinion  of  General  Gage. 
Prom  the  time  of  taking  command  at  Boston  he  had  been  per- 
plexed how  to  manage  its  inhabitants.  Had  they  been  hot- 
headed, impulsive,  and  prone  to  paroxysm,  his  task  would  have 
been  comparatively  easy ;    but  it  was  the  cool,  shrewd  commoDi 

*  Sparks,     Washington's  Writings,  vol,  ii,  p.  329?     ^ 


240  LIFE  OF' WASHINGTON':^ 

sense",  "by^HicF  all  .their  movements  were  regulated^  "thafc'con- 
founded  him. 

High-handed  measures  had  failed  of  the  anticipated  effect. 
Their  harbor  had  been  thronged  Avith  ships  ;  their  town  with 
troops.  The  port  bill  had  put  an  end  to  commerce ;  wharves 
were  deserted,  warehouses  closed ;  streets  grass-grown  and  silent. 
The  rich  were  growing  poor,  and  the  poor  were  without  employ ; 
yet  the  spirit  of  the  people  was  unbroken.  There  was  no  uproar, 
however  ;  no  riots  ;  everything  was  awfully  systematic  and  ac- 
cording to  rule.  Town  meetings  were  held,  in  which  public 
rights  and  public  measures  were  eloquently  discussed  by  John 
Adams,  Josiah  Quincy,  and  other  eminent  men.  Over  these 
meetings  Samuel  Adams  presided  as  moderator ;  a  man  clear  in 
judgment,  calm  in  conduct,  inflexible  in  resolution  ;  deeply 
grounded  in  civil  and  political  history,  and  infallible  on  all 
points  of  constitutional  law. 

Alarmed  at  the  powerful  influence  of  these  assemblages,  gov- 
ernment  issued  an  act  prohibiting  them  after  the  1st  of  August. 
The  act  was  evaded  by  convoking  the  meetings  before  that  day, 
and  keeping  them  alive  indefinitely.  Gage  was  at  a  loss  how 
to  act.  It  would  not  do  to  disperse  these  assemblages  by  force 
of  arms ;  for,  the  people  who  composed  them  mingled  the  sol- 
dier with  the  polemic ;  and  like  their  prototypes,  the  Covenant- 
ers of  yore,  if  prone  to  argue,  were  as  ready  to  fight.  So  the 
meetings  continued  to  be  held  pertinaciously.  Faneuil  Hall 
was  at  times  unable  to  hold  them,  and  they  swarmed  from 
that  revolutionary  hive  into  old  South  Church.  The  liberty- 
tree  became  a  rallying  place  for  any  popular  movement,  and  a 
flag  hoisted  on  it  was  saluted  by  all  processions  as  the  emblem 
of  the  popular  cause. 

Opposition  to  the  new  plan  of  government  assumed  a  more 
violent  aspect  at  the  extremity  of  the  province,  and  was  abetted 
by  Connecticut.  "  It  is  very  high,"  writes  Gage  (August  27th), 
"  in  Berkshire  County,  and  makes  way  rapidly  to  the  rest.  At 
Worcester  they  threaten  resistance,  purchase  arms,  provide 
powder,  cast  balls,  and  threaten  to  attack  any  troops  who  may 
oppose  them.  I  apprehend  I  shall  soon  have  to  march  a  body 
of  troops  into  that  township." 

The  time  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the  General  Congress 
at  Philadelphia  was  now  at  hand.  Delegates  had  already  gone 
on  from  Massachusetts.  "  It  is  not  possible  to  guess,"  writes 
Gage,  "what  a  body  composed  of  such  heterogeneous  matter 
will  determine ;  but  the  members  from  hence,  I  am  assured, 
will  promote  the  most  haughty  and  insolent  resolves  ;  for  their 
plan  has  ever  been,  by  threats  and  high-sounding  sedition,  to 
terrify  and  intimidate," 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  241 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

MEETING   OF   THE    FIRST    CONGRESS. OPENING  CEREMONIES. 

ELOQUENCE       OF      PATRICK       HENRY       AND    HENRY      LEE. 

DECLARATORY     RESOLUTION. BILL       OF       RIGHTS. STATE 

PAPERS. — Chatham's  opinions  of  congress. — washing- 
ton's    CORRESPONDENCE    WITH    CAPT.  MACKENZIE. VIEWS 

WITH  RESPECT  TO  INDEPENDENCE. DEPARTURE  OF  FAIR- 
FAX FOR  ENGLAND. 

When  the  time  approached  for  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Congress  at  Philadelphia,  Washington  was  joined  at  Mount 
Vernon  by  Patrick  Henry  and  Edmund  Pendleton,  and  they 
performed  the  journey  together  on  horseback.  It  was  a  noble 
companionship.  Henry  was  then  in  the  youthful  vigor  and 
elasticity  of  his  bounding  genius ;  ardent,  acute,  fanciful,  elo- 
quent. Pendleton,  schooled  in  public  life,  a  veteran  in  council, 
with  native  force  of  intellect,  and  habits  of  deep  reflection. 
Washington,  in  the  meridian  of  his  days,  mature  in  wisdom, 
comprehensive  in  mind,  sagacious  in  foresight.  Such  were  the 
apostles  of  liberty,  repairing  on  their  august  pilgrimage  to 
Philadelphia  from  all  parts  of  the  land,  to  lay  the  foundations 
of  a  mighty  empire.  Well  maj'-  we  say  of  that  eventful  period, 
"  There  were  giants  in  those  days." 

Congress  assembled  on  Monday,  the  5th  of  September,  in  a 
large  room  in  Carpenter's  Hall.  There  were  fifty-one  delegates, 
representing  all  the  colonies  excepting  Georgia. 

The  meeting  has  been  described  as  "  awfully  solemn."  The 
most  eminent  men  of  the  various  colonies  were  now  for  the 
first  time  brought  together ;  they  were  known  to  each  other  by 
fame,  but  were,  personally,  strangers.  The  object  which  had 
called  them  together  nvus  of  incalculable  magnitude.  The  lib- 
erties of  no  less  than  three  millions  of  people,  with  that  of  all 
their  posterity,  were  staked  on  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  their 
councils.* 

"  It  is  such  an  assembly,"  writes  John  Adams,  who  was 
present,  "  as  never  before  came  together  on  a  sudden,  in  any 
part  of  the  world.     Here  are  fortunes,  abilities,  learning,  elo- 

*  Adams'  Diary. 


2ji2  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

quence,  acuteness,  equal  to  any  I  ever  met  with  in  my  life. 
Here  is  a  diversity  of  religions,  educations,  manners,  interests, 
such  as  it  would  seem  impossible  to  unite  in  one  plan  of  conduct."    / 

There  being  an  inequality  in  the  number  of  delegates  from  / 
the  different  colonies,  a  question  arose  as  to  the  mode  of  voting ;  / 
whether  by  colonies,  by  the  poll,  or  by  interests. 

Patrick  Henry  scouted  the  idea  of  sectional  distinctions,  or 
individual  interests.  "  All  America,"  said  he,  "  is  thrown  into 
one  mass.  Where  are  your  landmarks — your  boundaries  of 
colonies  ?  They  are  all  thrown  down.  The  distinctions  between 
Virginians,  Pennsylvanians,  New  Yorkers,  and  New  Englanders, 
are  no  more.     1  am  not  a  Yirginian,  hut  an  American^'  * 

After  some  debate  it  was  determined  that  each  colony  should 
have  but  one  vote,  whatever  might  be  the  number  of  its  del- 
egates. The  deliberations  of  the  House  were  t6  be  with  closed 
doors,  and  nothing  but  the  resolves  promulgated,  unless  by 
order  of  the  majority. 

To  give  proper  dignity  and  solemnity  to  the  proceedings  of 
the  House,  it  was  moved  on  the  following  day,  that  each  morn- 
ing the  session  should  be  opened  by  prayer.  To  this  it  was 
demurred,  that  as  the  delegates  were  of  different  sects,  they 
might  not  consent  to  join  in  the  same  form  of  worship. 

Upon  this,  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  arose  and  said  :  "  He  would 
willingly  join  in  prayer  with  any  gentleman  of  piety  and  virtue, 
whatever  might  be  his  cloth,  provided  he  was  a  friend  of  his 
country ;  "  and  he  moved  that  the  Reverend  Mr.  Ducho,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  answered  to  that  description,  might  be  in- 
vited to  officiate  as  chaplain.  This  was  one  step  towards  unan- 
imity of  feeling,  Mr.  Adams  being  a  strong  Congregationalist, 
and  Mr.  Duche  an  eminent  Episcopalian  clergyman.  The 
motion  was  carried  into  effect ;  the  invitation  was  given  and 
accepted. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  a  rumor  reached  Philadelphia  that 
Boston  had  "been  cannonaded  by  the  British.  It  produced  a  strong 
sensation ;  and  when  Congress  met  on  the  following  morning 
(7th),  the  effect  was  visible  in  every  countenance.  The  del- 
egates from  the  east  were  greeted  with  a  warmer  grasp  of  the 
hand  by  their  associates  from  the  south. 

The  E-everend  Mr.  Duche,  according  to  invitation,  appeared 
in  his  canonicals,  attended  by  his  clerk.  The  morning  service 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  was  read  with  great  solemnity,  the 
clerk  making  the  responses.  The  Psalter  for  the  7th  day  of 
the  month  includes  the  35th  Psalm,  wherein  David  prays  for 
protection  against  his  enemies. 

J,  Adam's  Diary.  ,  „ 

J 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  24^ 

^^  Plead  my  cause,  0  Lord,  with  them  that  strive  with  me  ; 
fight  against  them  that  fight  against  me. 

"Take  hold  of  shield  and  buckler,  and  stand  up  for  my 
help. 

"  Draw  out,  also,  the  spear,  and  stop  the  way  of  them  that 
persecute  me.  Say  unto  my  soul,  I  am  thy  salvation,"  etc., 
etc. 

The  imj^loring  words  of  this  psalm  spoke  the  feelings  of  all 
hearts  present  ;  but  especially  of  those  from  New  England. 
John  Adams  writes  in  a  letter  to  his  wife  :  "  You  must  re- 
member this  was  the  morning  after  we  heard  the  horrible  rumor 
of  the  cannonade  of  Boston.  I  never  saw  a  greater  effect  upon 
an  audience.  It  seemed  as  if  heaven  had  ordained  that  psalm 
to  be  read  on  that  morning.  After  this,  Mr.  Duch  unex- 
pectedly struck  out  into  an  extemporaro  prayer,  which  filled  the 
bosom  of  every  man  present.  Episcopalian  as  he  is.  Dr.  Cooper 
himself  never  prayed  with  such  fervor,  such  ardor,  such  earnest- 
ness and  pathos,  and  in  language  so  eloquent  and  sublime,  for 
America,  for  the  Congress,  for  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  and  especially  the  town  of  Boston.  It  has  had  an  ex- 
cellent effect  upon  everybody  here."  * 

It  has  been  remarked  that  Washington  was  especially  devout 
on  this  occasion — kneeling,  while  others  stood  up.  In  this, 
however,  each,  no  doubt,  observed  the  attitude  in  prayer  to 
which  he  was  accustomed.  Washington  knelt,  being  an  Epis- 
copalian. 

The  rumored  attack  upon  Boston  rendered  the  service  of  the 
day  deeply  affecting  to  all  present.  They  were  one  political 
family,  actuated  by  one  feeling,  and  sympathizing  with  the  weal 
and  woe  of  each  individual  member.  The  rumor  proved  to  be 
erroneous ;  but  it  had  produced  a  most  beneficial  effect  in  call- 
ing forth  and  quickening  the  spirit  of  union,  so  vitally  im- 
portant in  that  assemblage. 

Owing  to  closed  doors,  and  the  want  of  reporters,  no  record 
exists  of  the  discussions  and  speeches  made  in  the  first  Con- 
gress. Mr.  Wirt,  speaking  from  tradition,  informs  us  that  a 
long  and  deep  silence  followed  the  organization  of  that  august 
body ;  the  members  looking  round  upon  each  other,  indi- 
vidually reluctant  to  open  a  business  so  fearfully  momentous. 
This  "  deep  and  deathlike  silence "  was  beginning  to  become 
painfully  embarrassing,  when  Patrick  Henry  arose.  He  fal- 
tered at  first,  as  was  his  habit ;  but  his  exordium  was  impres- 
sive ;  and  as  he  launched  forth  into  a  recital  of  colonial  wrongs 
he  kindled  with  his  subject,  until  he  poured  forth  one  of  those 
♦John  Adams'  Correspondence  and  Diary* 


244  IIFF  OF  WASBtNGTON. 

eloquent  appeals  which  had  so  often  shaken  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses and  gained  him  the  fame  of  being  the  greatest  orator  of 
Virginia.  He  sat  down,  according  to  Mr.  Wirt,  amidst  mur- 
murs of  astonishment  and  ap2)lause,  and  was  now  admitted,  on 
every  hand,  to  be  the  first  orator  of  America.  He  was  followed 
by  E/ichard  Henry  Lee,  who,  according  to  the  same  writer, 
charmed  the  House  with  a  different  kind  of  eloquence,  chaste 
and  classical;  contrasting,  in  its  cultivated  graces,  with  the 
wild  and  grand  effusions  of  Henry.  "  The  superior  powers  of 
these  great  men,  however,"  adds  he,  "  were  manifested  only  in 
debate,  and  while  general  grievances  were  the  topic ;  when 
called  down  from  the  heights  of  declamation  to  that  severer  test 
of  intellectual  excellence,  the  details  of  business,  they  found 
themselves  in  a  body  of  cool-headed,  reflecting  and  most  able 
'  men,  by  whom  they  were,  in  their  turn,  completely  thrown  into 
the  shade."  * 

The  first  public  measure  of  Congress  was  a  resolution  decla- 
ratory of  their  feelings  with  regard  to  the  recent  acts  of  Par- 
liament, violating  the  rights  of  the  peoj)le  of  Massachusetts, 
and  of  their  determination  to  combine  in  resisting  any  force 
that  might  attempt  to  carry  those  acts  into  execution. 

A  committee  of  two  from  each  province  reported  a  series  of 
resolutions,  which  were  adopted  by  Congress,  as  a  "  declaration 
of  colonial  rights." 

In  this  were  enumerated  their  natural  rights  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life,  liberty,  and  property  ;  and  their  rights  as  British 
subjects.  Among  the  latter  was  participation  in  legislative 
councils.  This  they  could  not  exercise  through  representatives 
in  Parliament ;  they  claimed,  therefore,  the  power  of  legislating 
in  their  provincial  Assemblies,  consenting,  however,  to  such 
acts  of  Parliament  as  might  be  essential  to  the  regulation  of 
trade ;  but  excluding  all  taxation,  internal  or  external,  for  rais- 
ing revenue  in  America. 

The  common  law  of  England  was  claimed  as  a  birthright, 
including  the  right  of  trial  by  a  jury  of  the  vicinage ;  of  hold- 
ing public  meetings  to  consider  grievances;  and  of  petitioning 
the  king.  The  benefits  of  all  such  statutes  as  existed  at  the 
time  of  the  colonization  were  likewise  claimed,  together  with 
the  immunities  and  privileges  granted  by  royal  charters,  or 
secured  by  provincial  laws. 

The  maintenance  of  a  standing  army  in  any  colony  in  time 
of  peace,  without  the  consent  of  its  legislature,  was  pronounced 
contrary   to  law.      The    exercise   of  the   legislative   power  in 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry* 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  24^ 

the  colonies  by  a  council  appointed  during  pleasure  by  the 
crown,  was  declared  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  destructive  to 
the  freedom  of  American  legislation. 

Then  followed  a  specification  of  the  acts  of  Parliament,  passed 
during  the  reign  of  George  III.,  infringing  and  violating  these 
rights.  These  were :  the  sugar  act ;  the  stamp  act ;  the  two 
acts  for  quartering  troops ;  the  tea  act ;  the  act  suspending  the 
New  York  Legislature;  the  two  acts  for  the  trial  in  Great 
Britain  of  offenses  committed  in  America;  the  Boston  port 
bill ;  the  act  for  regulating  the  government  of  Massachusetts, 
and  the  Quedec  act. 

"  To  these  grievous  acts  and  measures,"  it  was  added,  "  Amer- 
icans cannot  submit;  but  in  hopes  their  fellow-subjects  in 
Great  Britain  will,  on  a  revision  of  them,  restore  us  to  that 
state  in  which  both  countries  found  happiness  and  prosperity, 
we  have,  for  the  present,  only  resolved  to  pursue  the  following 
peaceable  measures  : — 

"  1st.  To  enter  into  a  non-importation,  non-consumption,  and 
non-exportation  agreement,  or  association. 

"  2d.  To  prepare  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain, 
and  a  memorial  to  the  inhabitants  of  British  America. 

"  3d.  To  prepare  a  loyal  address  to  His  Majesty." 

The  above-mentioned  association  was  accordingly  formed, 
and  committees  were  to  be  appointed  in  every  county,  city,  and 
town,  to  maintain  it  vigilantly  and  strictly. 

Masterly  state  papers  were  issued  by  Congress  in  conformity 
to  the  resolutions ;  namely,  a  petition  to  the  king,  drafted  by 
Mr.  Dickinson  of  Philadelphia;  an  address  to  the  people  of 
Canada  by  the  same  hand,  inviting  them  to  join  the  league  of 
the  colonies ;  another  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  drafted 
by  John  Jay  of  New  York;  and  a  memorial  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  British  colonies,  by  Eichard  Henry  Lee  of  Vir- 
ginia.* 

The  Congress  remained  in  session  fifty-one  days.  Every 
subject,  according  to  Adams,  was  discussed  "with  a  modera- 
tion, an  acuteness,  and  a  minuteness  equal  to  that  of  Queen 
Elizabeth's  privy  council."  f  The  papers  issued  by  it  have 
deservedly  been  pronounced  master-pieces  of  practical  talent 
and  political  wisdom.  Chatham,  when  speaking  on  the  subject 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  could  not  restrain  his  enthusiasm. 
"When  your  lordships,"  said  he,  look  at  the  papers  transmitted 
to  us  from  America ;  when  you  consider  their  decency,  firm- 
ness, and  wisdom,  you  cannot  but  respect  their  cause,  and  wish 

*  See  Correspondence  and  Diary  of  J.  Adams,  vols.  ii.  and  ix. 
t  Letter  to  William  Tudor,  26th  of  Sept.  1774. 


246  LIF£:  OF  WASHINGtOlt. 

to  make  it  your  own.  Eor  myself,  I  must  declare  and  avow 
that,  in  the  master  states  of  the  world,  I  know  not  the  people, 
or  senate,  who,  in  such  a  complication  of  difficult  circumstances, 
can  stand  in  preference  to  the  delegates  of  America  assembled 
in  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia." 

From  the  secrecy  that  enveloped  its  discussions,  we  are 
ignorant  of  the  part  taken  by  Washington  in  the  debates ;  the 
similarity  of  the  resolutions,  however,  in  spirit  and  substance 
to  those  of  the  Fairfax  County  meeting,  in  which  he  presided, 
and  the  coincidence  of  the  measures  adopted  with  those  therein 
recommended,  show  that  he  had  a  powerful  agency  in  the  whole 
proceedings  of  this  eventful  assembly.  Patrick  Henry,  being 
asked,  on  his  return  home,  whom  he  considered  the  greatest 
man  in  Congress,  replied :  "  If  you  speak  of  eloquence,  Mr. 
E-utledge,  of  South  Carolina,  is  by  far  the  greatest  orator; 
but  if  you  speak  of  solid  information  and  sound  judgment. 
Colonel  Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man  on  that 
floor. 

How  thoroughly  and  izealously  he  participated  in  the  feel- 
ings which  actuated  Congress  in  this  memorable  session  may 
be  gathered  from  his  correspondence  with  a  friend  enlisted  in 
the  royal  cause.  This  was  Captain  Kobert  Mackenzie,  who 
had  formerly  served  under  him  in  his  Virginia  regiment  during 
the  French  war,  but  now  held  a  commission  in  the  regular 
army,  and  was  stationed  among  the  British  troops  at  Boston. 

Mackenzie,  in  a  letter,  had  spoken  with  loyal  abhorrence  of 
the  state  of  affairs  in  the  "  unhappy  province  "  of  Massachusetts, 
and  the  fixed  aim  of  its  inhabitants  at  "  total  independence." 
"  The  rebellious  and  numerous  meetings  of  men  in  arms,"  said 
he,  "their  scandalous  and  ungenerous  attacks  upon  the  best 
characters  in  the  province,  obliging  them  to  save  themselves  by 
flight,  and  their  repeated,  but  feeble  threats,  to  dispossess  the 
troops,  have  furnished  sufficient  reasons  to  General  Gage  to 
put  the  town  in  a  formidable  state  of  defense,  abont  which  we 
are  now  fully  employed  and  which  will  be  shortly  accom- 
plished to  their  great  mortification." 

"  Permit  me,"  writes  Washington  in  reply,  "  with  the  freedom 
of  a  friend  (for  you  know  I  always  esteemed  you),  to  express 
my  sorrow  that  fortune  should  place  you  in  a  service  that 
must  fix  curses,  to  the  latest  posterity,  upon  the  contrivers, 
and,  if  success  (which,  by  the  by,  is  impossible)  accompanies 
it,  execrations  upon  all  those  who  have  been  instrumental 
in  the  execution When  you  condemn  the  con- 
duct of  the  Massachusetts  people,  you  reason  from  effects, 
Xiot  causeS;  otherwise  you  would  not  wonder  at  a  people^  who 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  247 

are  every  day  receiving  fresh  proofs  of  a  systematic  assertion  of 
an  arbitrary  power,  deeply  planned  to  overturn  the  laws  and 
constitution  of  their  country,  and  to  violate  the  most  essential 
and  valuable  rights  of  mankind,  being  irritated,  and  with  diffi- 
culty restrained  from  acts  of  the  greatest  violence  aiid  intem- 
perance. 

"  For  my  own  part,  I  view  things  in  a  very  different  point  of 
light  from  the  one  in  which  you  seem  to  consider  them  ;  and 
though  you  are  led  to  believe,  by  venal  men,  that  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  are  rebellious,  setting  up  for  independency,  and 
what  not,  give  me  leave,  my  good  friend,  to  tell  you  that  you 

are  abused,  grossly  abused I  think  I  can  announce 

it  as  a  fact,  that  it  is  not  the  wish  or  interest  of  that  govern- 
ment, or  any  other  upon  this  continent,  separately  or  collectively, 
to  set  up  for  independence ;  but  this  you  may  at  the  same  time 
rely  on,  that  none  of  them  will  ever  submit  to  the  loss  of  their 
valuable  rights  and  privileges,  which  are  essential  to  the  hap- 
piness of .  every  free  state,  and  without  which,  life,  liberty,  and 
property  are  rendered  totally  insecure. 

"  These,  sir,  being  certain  consequences,  which  must  naturally 
result  from  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  relative  to  America  in 
general,  and  the  government  of  Massachusetts  in  particular,  is 
it  to  be  wondered  at  that  men  who  wish  to  avert  the  impending 
blow,  should  attempt  to  oppose  its  progress,  or  prepare  for  their 
defense,  if  it  cannot  be  averted  ?  Surely  I  may  be  allowed  to 
answer  in  the  negative  ;  and  give  me  leave  to  add,  as  my  opin- 
ion, that  more  blood  will  be  spilled  on  this  occasion,*  if  the 
ministry  are  determined  to  push  matters  to  extremity,  than 
history  has  ever  yet  furnished  instances  of  in  the  annals  of 
North  America ;  and  such  a  vital  wound  will  be  given  to  the 
peace  of  this  great  country,  as  time  itself  cannot  cure,  or  eradi- 
cate the  remembrance  of." 

In  concluding,  he  repeats  his  views  with  respect  to  indepen- 
dence :  "  I  am  well  satisfied  that  no  such  thing  is  desired  by 
any  thinking  man  in  all  North  America ;  on  the  contrary,  that 
it  is  the  ardent  wish  of  the  warmest  advocates  for  liberty,  that 
peace  and  tranquillity,  upon  constitutional  grounds,  may  be  re- 
stored, and  the  horrors  of  civil  discord  prevented."  * 

This  letter  we  have  considered  especially  worthy  of  citation, 
from  its  being  so  full  and  explicit  a  declaration  of  Washington's 
sentiments  and  opinions  at  this  critical  juncture.  His  views 
on  the  question  of  independence  are  particularly  noteworthy, 
from  his  being  at  this  time  in  daily  and  confidential  communis 

*  Sparks.     Washing  tow's  Writing  s,yo\,  ii.  p.  899. 


248  TAFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

cation  with  the  leaders  of  the  popular  movement,  and  among 
them  with  the  delegates  from  Boston.  It  is  evident  that  the 
filial  feeling  still  throbbed  toward  the  mother  country,  and  a 
complete  separation  from  her  had  not  yet  entered  into  the  alter- 
natives of  her  colonial  children. 

On  the  breaking  up  of  Congress,  Washington  hastened  back 
to  Mount  Vernon,  where  his  presence  was  more  than  usually 
important  to  the  happiness  of  Mrs.  Washington,  from  the  lone- 
liness caused  by  the  recent  death  of  her  daughter,  and  the  ab-'> 
sence  of  her  son.  The  cheerfulness  of  the  neighborhood  had 
been  diminished  of  late  by  the  departure  of  George  William 
Fairfax  for  England,  to  take  possession  of  estates  which  had  de- 
volved to  him  in  that  kingdom.  His  estate  of  Belvoir,  so  closely 
allied  to  that  of  Mount  Vernon  by  family  ties  and  reciprocal 
hospitality,  was  left  in  charge  of  a  steward  or  overseer.  Through 
some  accident  the  house  took  fire,  and  was  burnt  to  the  ground. 
It  was  never  rebuilt.  The  course  of  political  events  which 
swept  Washington  from  his  quiet  home  into  the  current  of 
public  and  military  life,  prevented  William  Fairfax,  who  was  a 
royalist,  though  a  liberal  one,  from  returning  to  his  once  happy 
abode,  and  the  hospitable  intercommunion  of  Mount  Vernon 
and  Belvoir  was  at  an  end  forever. 


LIFE  OF  WASIimGTOJSr.  .     249 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

GAGE^S  MILITARY  MEASURES. — REMOVAL  OF  GUNPOWDER  FROM 
THE  ARSENAL. PUBLIC  AGITATION. ALARMS  IN  THE  COUN- 
TRY.   CIVIL      GOVERNMENT        OBSTRUCTED. BELLIGERENT 


SYMPTOMS. ISRAEL     PUTNAM    AND    GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE 


THEIR   CHARACTERS    AND     STORIES. GENERAL    ELECTION. 

SELF-CONSTITUTED  CONGRESS. HANCOCK  PRESIDENT. AD- 
JOURNS TO  CONCORD. REMONSTRANCE  TO  GAGE. HIS  PER- 
PLEXITIES.  GENERALS  ARTEMAS  WARD  AND  SETH  POMEROY. 

COMMITTEE      OF      SAFETY. COMMITTEE       OF      SUPPLIES. ■ 

RESTLESSNESS       THROUGHOUT       THE      LAND. INDEPENDENT 

COMPANIES  IN  VIRGINIA. MILITARY  TONE  AT  MOUNT  VER- 
NON.— Washington's  military  guests. — major   horatio 

GATES. anecdotes  CONCERNING  HIM. GENERAL     CHARLES 

lee. his  peculiarities  and  dogs. washington  at  the 

richmond  convention. war  speech  of  patrick  henry.-— 

Washington's  military  intentions. 

The  rumor  of  the  cannonading  of  Boston,  which  had  thrown 
such  a  gloom  over  the  religious  ceremonial  at  the  opening  of 
Congress,  had  been  caused  by  measures  of  Governor  Gage. 
The  public  mind,  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  had  been  rendered 
excessively  jealous  and  sensitive  by  the  landing  and  encamp- 
ing of  artillery  upon  the  Common,  and  Welsh  Fusiliers  on 
Fort  Hill,  and  by  the  planting  of  four  large  field-pieces  on 
Boston  Neck,  the  only  entrance  to  the  town  by  land.  The 
country  people  were  arming  and  disciplining  themselves  in 
every  direction,  and  collecting  and  depositing  arms  and  am- 
munition in  places  where  they  would  be  at  hand  in  case  of 
emergency.  Gage,  on  the  other  hand,  issued  orders  that  the 
munitions  of  war  in  all  the  public  magazines  should  be  brought 
to  Boston.  One  of  these  magazines  was  the  arsenal  in  the 
northwest  part  of  Charleston,  between  Medford  and  Cambridge. 
Two  companies  of  the  king's  troops  passed  silently  in  boats  up 
Mystic  Biver  in  the  night ;  took  possession  of  a  large  quantity 
of  gunpowder  deposited  there,  and  conveyed  it  to  Castle  Wil- 
liams. Intelligence  of  this  sacking  of  the  arsenal  flew  with 
lightning  speed  through  the  neighborhood.  In  the  morning 
several  thousand  of  patriots  were  assembled  at  Cambridge, 
weapon  in  hand,  and  were  with  difficulty  prevented  from  march- 


250     .  LtFM  OF  WASBINGTON. 

ing  upon  Boston  to  compel  a  restitution  of  the  powder.  In  tlie 
confusion  and  agitation,  a  rumor  stole  out  into  the  country  that 
Boston  was  to  be  attacked  ;  followed  by  another  ,that  the  ships 
were  cannonading  the  town,  and  the  soldiers  shooting  down  the 
inhabitants.  The  whole  country  was  forthwith  in  arms. 
Numerous  bodies  of  the  Connecticut  people  had  made  some 
marches  before  the  report  was  contradicted,  f 

To  guard  against  any  irruption  from  the  country,  Gage  en- 
camped the  59th  regiment  on  Boston  Neck,  and  employed  the 
soldiers  in  intrenching  and  fortifying  it. 

In  the  meantime  the  belligerent  feelings  of  the  inhabitants 
were  encouraged,  by  learning  how  the  rumor  of  their  being 
cannonaded  had  been  received  in  the  General  Congress,  and  by 
assurances  from  all  parts  that  the  cause  of  Boston  would  be 
made  the  common  cause  of  America.  "  It  is  surj^rising,"  writes 
General  Gage,  "  that  so  many  of  the  other  provinces  interest 
themselves  so  much  in  this.  They  have  some  warm  friends  in 
New  York,  and  I  learn  that  the  people  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  are  as  mad  as  they  are  here.^ 

The  commissions  were  arrived  for  those  civil  officers  ap- 
pointed by  the  crown  under  the  new  modifications  of  the  char- 
ter :  many,  however,  were  afraid  to  accept  of  them.  Those  who 
did  soon  resigned  finding  it  impossible  to  withstand  the  odium  of 
the  people.  The  civil  government  throughout  the  province  be- 
came obstructed  in  all  its  operations.  It  was  enough  for  a  man 
to  be  supposed  of  the  governmental  party  to  incur  the  popular 
ill-will. 

Among  other  portentous  signs,  war-hawks  began  to  appear 
above  the  horizon.  Mrs.  Cushing,  wife  to  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, writes  to  her  husband,  "  Two  of  the  greatest  military 
character  of  the  day  are  visiting  this  distressed  town.  Gen- 
eral Charles  Lee,  who  has  served  in  Poland,  and  Colonel  Israel 
Putnam,  whose  bravery  and  character  need  no  description.'' 
As  these  two  men  will  take  a  prominent  part  in  coming^  events, 
we  pause  to  give  a  word  or  two  concerning  them. 

Israel  Putnam  was  a  soldier  of  native  growth ;  one  of  the 
military  productions  of  the  French  war ;  seasoned  and  proved 
in  frontier  campaigning.  He  had  served  at  Louisburg,  Port 
Duquesne,  and  Crown  Point ;  had  signalized  himself  in  Indian 
warfare ;  been  captured  by  the  savages,  tied  to  a  stake  to  be 
tortured  and  burnt,  and  had  only  been  rescued  by  the  inter- 
ference, at  the  eleventh  hour,  of  a  French  partisan  of  the 
Indians. 

*  Holmes'  Annals,  ii.  191,    Letter  of  Gage  to  Lord  Dartmouth, 
t  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  20. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  251 

Since  the  peace,  he  had  returned  to  agricultural  life,  and 
was  now  a  farmer  at  Pomfret,  in  Connecticut,  where  the  scars 
of  his  wounds  and  the  tales  of  his  exploits  rendered  him  a  hero 
in  popular  estimation.  The  war  spirit  yet  burned  within  him. 
He  was  now  chairman  of  a  committee  of  vigilance,  and  had 
come  to  Boston  in  discharge  of  his  political  and  semi-belligerent 
functions. 

General  Charles  Lee  was  a  military  man  of  a  different  stamp  ; 
an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  a  highly  cultivated  production  of 
European  warfare.  He  was  the  son  of  a  British  officer,  Lieu- 
tenant-colonel John  Lee,  of  the  dragoons,  who  married  the 
daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Bunbury,  Bart.,  and  afterwards  rose  to 
be  a  general.  Lee  was  born  in  1731,  and  may  almost  be  said 
to  have  been  cradled  in  the  army,  for  he  received  a  commission 
by  the  time  he  was  eleven  years  of  age.  He  had  an  irregular 
education  ;  part  of  the  time  in  England,  part  on  the  continent, 
and  must  have  scrambled  his  way  into  knowledge ;  yet  by  apt- 
ness, diligence,  and  ambition,  he  had  acquired  a  considerable 
portion,  being  a  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and  acquainted  with 
modern  languages.  The  art  of  war  was  his  especial  study  from 
his  boyhood,  and  he  had  early  opportunities  of  practical  exper- 
ience. At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  commanded  a  company  of 
grenadiers  in  the  44th  regiment,  and  served  in  the  French  war 
in  America,  where  he  was  brought  into  military  companionship 
with  Sir  William  Johnson's  Mohawk  warriors,  whom  he  used 
to  extol  for  their  manly  beauty,  their  dress,  their  graceful  car- 
riage and  good  breeding.  In  fact,  he  rendered  himself  so 
much  of  a  favorite  among  them,  that  they  admitted  him  to 
smoke  in  their  councils,  and  adopted  him  into  the  tribe  of  the 
Bear,  giving  him  an  Indian  name,  signifying  "Boiling Water." 

At  the  battle  of  Ticonderoga,  where  Abercrombie  was  defeated 
he  was  shot  through  the  body,  while  leading  his  men  against 
the  French  breastworks.  In  the  next  campaign,  he  was  present 
at  the  siege  of  Fort  Niagara,  where  General  Prideaux  fell,  and 
where  Sir  William  Johnson,  with  his  British  troops  and  Mohawk 
warriors,  eventually  won  the  fortress.  Lee  had,  probably,  an 
opportunity  on  this  occasion  of  fighting  side  by  side  with  some 
of  his  adopted  brethren  of  the  Bear  tribe,  as  we  are  told  he  was 
much  exposed  during  the  engagement  with  the  French  and 
Indians,  and  that  two  balls  grazed  his  hair.  A  military  errand, 
afterwards,  took  him  across  Lake  Erie,  and  down  the  northern 
branch  of  the  Ohio  to  Fort  Duquesne,  and  thence  by  a  long 
march  of  seven  hundred  miles  to  Crown  Point,  where  he  joined 
General  Amherst.  In  1760,  he  was  among  the  forces  which  fol- 
lowed that  general  from  Lake  Ontario  down  the  St  Lawrence  : 


252  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Montreal,  wliich  completed 
the  conquest  of  Canada. 

In  1762,  he  bore  a  colonel's  commission,  and  served  under 
Brigadier-general  Burgoyne  in  Portugal,  where  he  was  intrust- 
ed with  an  enterprise  against  a  Spanish  post  at  the  old  Moorish 
castle  of  Vilha,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tagus.  He  forded  the 
river  in  the  night,  pushed  his  wa}^  through  mountain  passes, 
and  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  rushed  with  his  grenadiers 
into  the  enemy's  camp  before  daylight,  where  everything  was 
carried  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  assisted  by  a  charge  of  dra- 
goons. ■  The  war  over,  he  returned  to  England,  bearing  tes- 
timonials of  bravery  and  good  conduct  from  his  commander- 
in-chief,  the  Count  de  la  Lippe,  and  from  the  king  of  Portugal.* 

Wielding  the  pen  as  well  as  the  sword,  Lee  undertook  to 
write  on  questions  of  colonial  policy,  relative  to  Pontiac's  war 
in  which  he  took  the  opposition  side.  This  lost  him  the  favor 
of  the  ministry,  and  with  it  all  hojDC  of  further  promotion. 

He  now  determined  to  offer  his  services  to  Poland,  supposed 
to  be  on  verge  of  a  war.  Kecommendations  from  his  old  com- 
mander, the  Court  de  la  Lij)pe,  procured  him  access  to  some  of 
the  continental  courts.  He  was  well  received  by  Frederick  the 
Great,  and  had  several  conversations  with  him,  chiefly  on 
American  affairs.  At  Warsaw,  his  military  reputation  secured 
him  the  favor  of  Poniatowsky,  recently  elected  king  of  Poland, 
with  the  name  of  Stanislaus  Augustus,  who  admitted  him  to  his 
table,  and  made  him  one  of  his  aides-de-camp.  Lee  was 
disappointed  in  his  hope  of  active  service.  There  was  agitation 
in  the  country,  but  the  power  of  the  king  was  not  adequate  to 
raise  forces  sufficient  for  its  suppression.  He  had  few  troops, 
and  those  not  trustworthy  ;  and  the  town  was  full  of  the  dis- 
affected. "  We  have  frequent  alarms,"  said  Lee,  "  and  the 
pleasure  of  sleeping  every  night  with  our  pistols  on  our  pillows." 

By  way  of  relieving  his  restlessness,  Lee,  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  king,  set  off  to  accompany  the  Polish  ambassador  to 
Constantinople.  The  latter  travelled  too  slow  for  him  ;  so  he 
dashed  ahead  when  on  the  frontiers  of  Turkey,  with  an  escort 
of  the  grand  seignior's  treasure  ;  came  near  perishing'  with  cold 
and  hunger  among  the  Bulgarian  mountains  and  after  his 
arrival  at  the  Turkish  capital,  ran  a  risk  of  being  buried  under 
the  ruins  of  his  house  in  an  earthquake. 

Late  in  the  same  year  (1766),  he  was  again  in  England,  an 
applicant  for  military  appointment,  bearing  a  letter  from  King 
Stanislaus  to  George.     His  meddling  pen  is  supposed  again  to 

*  Life  of  Charles  Lee,  by  Jared  Sparks.  Also,  Memoirs  of  Charles 
Lee  ;  published  in  London,  1792, 


LIFE  OF  WASFUNGTON.  253 

have  marred  liLs  fortunes,  having  indulged  in  sarcastic  comments 
on  the  military  character  of  General  Townshend  and  Lord  George 
Sackville.  "  I  am  not  at  all  surprised,"  said  a  friend  to  him, 
"  that  you  find  the  door  shut  against  you  by  a  person  who  has 
such  unbounded  credit,  as  you  have  ever  too  freely  indulged  in 
a  liberty  of  declaiming,  which  many  invidious  persons  have  not 
failed  to  inform  him  of.  The  principle  on  which  you  thus 
freely  speak  your  mind,  is  honest  and  patriotic,  but  not  politic." 

The  disappointments  which  Lee  met  with  during  a  residence 
of  two  years  in  England,  and  a  protracted  attendance  on  people 
in  power,  rankled  in  his  bosom,  and  embittered  his  subsequent 
resentment  against  the  king  and  his  ministers.  ^ 

In  1768,  he  was  again  on  his  way  to  Poland,  with  the  design 
of  performing  a  campaign  in  the  Russian  service.  "  I  flatter 
myself,"  said  he,  "  that  a  little  more  practice  will  make  me  a 
a  good  soldier.  If  not,  it  will  serve  to  talk  over  my  kitchen 
fire  in  my  old  age,  which  will  soon  come  upon  us  all." 

He  now  looked  forward  to  spirited  service.  "  I  am  to  have 
a  command  of  Cossacks  and  Wallacks,"  writes  he,  "  a  kind  of 
people  I  have  a  good  opinion  of.  I  am  determined  not  to  serve 
in 'the  line.     One  might  as  well  be  a  church-warden." 

The  friendship  of  King  Stanislaus  continued.  "  He  treats 
me  more  like  a  brother  than  a  patron,"  said  Lee.  In  1769,  the 
latter  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  major-general  in  the  Polish 
army,  and  left  Warsaw  to  join  the  Hussian  force,  which  was 
crossing  the  Dniester  and  advancing  into  Moldavia.  He  arrived 
in  time  to  take  part  in  a  severe  action  between  the  Russians 
and  Turks,  in  which  the  Cossacks  and  hussars  were  terribly  cut 
up  by  the  Turkish  cavalry,  in  a  ravine  near  the  city  of  Chot- 
zim.  It  was  a  long  and  doubtful  conflict,  with  various  changes ; 
but  the  rumored  approach  of  the  grand  vizier,  with  a  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand  men,  compelled  the  Russians  to  abandon 
the  enterprise  and  recross  the  Dniester. 

Lee  never  returned  to  Poland,  though  he  ever  retained  a  de- 
voted attachment  to  Stanislaus.  He  for  some  time  led  a  restless 
life  about  Europe — visiting  Italy,  Sicily,  Malta,  and  the  south 
of  Spain ;  troubled  with  attacks  of  rheumatism,  gout,  and  the 
effects  of  a  "  Hungarian  fever."  He  had  become  more  and 
more  cynical  and  irascible,  and  had  more  than  one  "  affair  of 
honor,"  in  one  of  which  he  killed  his  antagonist.  His  splenetic 
feelings,  as  well  as  his  political  sentiments,  were  occasionally 
vented  in  severe  attacks  upon  the  ministry,  full  of  irony  and 
sarcasm.  They  appeared  in  the  public  journals,  and  gained 
him  such  reputation,  that  even  the  papers  of  Junius  were  by 
some,  attributed  to  him, 


254  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  the  questions  whicli  had  risen  between  England  and  her 
colonies,  he  had  strongly  advocated  the  cause  of  the  latter ;  and 
it  was  the  feelings  thus  excited,  and  the  recollections,  perhaps, 
of  his  early  campaigns,  that  had  recently  brought  him  to 
America.  Here  he  had  arrived  in  the  latter  part  of  1773,  had 
visited  various  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia, 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  political  agitations  of  the  country. 
His  caustic  attacks  upon  the  ministry ;  his  conversational 
powers  and  his  poignant  sallies,  had  gained  him  great  reputa- 
tion; but  his  military  renown  rendered  him  especially  interest- 
ing at  the  present  juncture.  A  general,  who  had  served  in  the 
famous  campaigns  of  Europe,  commanded  Cossacks,  fought  with 
Turks,  talked  with  Frederick  the  Great,  and  been  aide-de-camp 
to  the  king  of  Poland,  was  a  prodigious  acquisition  to  the  patriot 
cause  !  On  the  other  hand,  his  visit  to  Boston  was  looked  upon 
with  uneasiness  by  the  British  officers,  who  knew  his  adventur- 
ous character.  It  was  surmised  that  he  was  exciting  a  spirit 
of  revolt,  with  a  view  to  putting  himself  at  its  head.  These 
suspicions  found  their  way  into  the  London  papers,  and  alarmed 
the  British  cabinet.  "  Have  an  attention  to  his  conduct,"  writes 
Lord  Dartmouth  to  Gage,  "  and  take  every  legal  method  to  pre- 
vent his  effecting  any  of  those  dangerous  purposes  he  is  said  to 
have  in  view." 

Lee,  when  subsequently  informed  of  these  suspicions,  scoffed 
at  them  in  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Edmund  Burke,  and  decla'red 
that  he  had  not  the  "  temerity  and  vanity "  to  aspire  to  the 
aims  imputed  to  him. 

"  To  think  myself  qualified  for  the  most  important  charge 
that  ever  was  committed  to  mortal  man,"  writes  he,  "  is  the 
last  stage  of  presumption ;  nor  do  I  think  the  Americans  would, 
or  ought  to  confide  in  a  man,  let  his  qualifications  be  ever  so 
great,  who  has  no  property  among  them.  It  is  true,  I  most  de- 
voutly wish  them  success  in  the  glorious  struggle ;  that  I  have 
expressed  my  wishes  both  in  writing  and  viva  voce  /  but  my 
errand  to  Boston  was  mere  curiosity  to  see  a  people  in  so  sin- 
gular circumstances ;  and  I  had  likewise  an  ambition  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  some  of  their  leading  men ;  with  them  only  I 
associated  during  my  stay  in  Boston.  Our  ingenious  gentlemen 
in  the  camp,  therefore,  very  naturally  concluded  my  design  was 
to  put  myself  at  thoir  head. 

To  resume  the  course  of  events  at  Boston.  Gage  on  the  1st 
of  September,  before  this  popular  agitation,  had  issued  writs 
for  an  election  of  the  Assembly  to  meet  at  Salem  in  October ; 
seeing,  however,  the  irritated  state  of  the  public  mind,  he  now 
countermanded  the  same  by  proclamation.     The  people,  disre- 


LIFE  OF  WASIIiNGTCN.  ^55 

garding  the  countermand,  carried  the  election,  and  ninety  of 
the  new  members  thus  elected  met  at  the  appointed  time.  They 
waited  a  whole  day  for  the  governor  to  attend,  administer  the 
oaths,  and  open  the  session ;  but  as  he  did  not  make  his  appear- 
ance, they  voted  themselves  a  provincial  Congress,  and  chose 
for  president  of  it  John  Hancock — a  man  of  great  wealth,  popu- 
lar, and  of  somewhat  showy  talents,  and  ardent  patriotism  ;  and 
eminent  for  his  social  position. 

This  self-constituted  body  adjourned  to  Concord,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Boston,  quietly  assumed  supreme  authority,  and 
issued  a  remonstrance  to  the  governor,  virtually  calling  him  to 
account  for  his  military  operations  in  fortifying  Boston  Neck, 
and  collecting  warlike  stores  about  him,  thereby  alarming  the 
fears  of  the  whole  province,  and  menacing  the  lives  and  prop- 
erty of  the  Bostonians. 

General  Gage,  overlooking  the  irregularity  of  its  organization, 
entered  into  explanations  with  the  Assembly,  but  failed  to  give 
satisfaction.  As  winter  approached,  he  found  his  situation  more 
and  more  critical.  Boston  was  the  only  place  in  Massachusetts 
that  now  contained  British  forces,  and  it  had  become  the  refuge 
of  all  the  ^'  tories  "  of  the  province ;  that  is  to  say,  of  all  those  de- 
voted to  the  British  government.  There  was  animosity  between 
them  and  the  principal  inhabitants,  among  whom  revolutionary 
principles  prevailed.  The  town  itself,  almost  insulated  by  nature, 
and  surrounded  by  a  hostile  country,  was  like  a  place  besieged. 

The  provincial  Congress  conducted  its  affairs  with  the  order 
and  system  so  formidable  to  General  Gage.  Having  adopted  a 
plan  for  organizing  the  militia,  it  had  nominated  general  offi- 
cers, two  of  whom,  Artemas  Ward  and  Seth  Pomeroy,  had 
accepted. 

The  executive  powers  were  vested  in  a  committee  of  safety. 
This  was  to  determine  when  the  services  of  the  militia  were 
necessary ;  was  to  call  them  forth ;  to  nominate  their  officers  to 
the  Congress  ;  to  commission  them,  and  direct  the  operations  of 
the  army.  Another  committee  was  appointed  to  furnish  sup- 
plies to  the  forces  when  called  out — hence,  named  the  Commit- 
tee of  Supplies. 

Under  such  auspices,  the  militia  went  on  arming  and  dis- 
ciplining itself  in  every  direction.  They  associated  themselves 
in  large  bodies,  and  engaged,  verbally  or  by  writing,  to  as- 
semble in  arms  at  the  shortest  notice  for  the  common  defense, 
subject  to  the  orders  of  the  committee  of  safety. 

Arrangements  had  been  made  for  keeping  up  an  active  coiv 
respondence  between  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  spread^ 
ing  an  alarm,,  in  case  of  any  threatening  danger.     Under  the 


256  .    LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

direction  of  the  committees  just  mentioned,  large  quantities  of 
military  stores  had  been  collected  and  deposited  at  Concord 
and  at  Worcester. 

This  semi-belligerent  state  of  affairs  in  Massachusetts  pro- 
duced a  general  restlessness  throughout  the  land.  The  weak- 
hearted  apprehended  coming  troubles  ;  the  resolute  prepared  to 
brave  them.  Military  measures,  hitherto  confined  to  New  Eng- 
land, extended  to  the  middle  and  southern  provinces,  and  the 
roll  of  the  drum  resounded  through  the  villages. 

Virginia  was  among  the  first  to  buckle  on  its  armor.  It  had 
long  been  a  custom  among  its  inhabitants  to  form  themselves 
into  independent  companies,  equipped  at  their  own  expense, 
having  their  own  peculiar  uniforms,  and  electing  their  own 
officers,  though  holding  themselves  subject  to  militia  law. 
They  had  hitherto  been  self-disciplined ;  but  now  they  con- 
tinually resorted  to  Washington  for  instruction  and  ad- 
vice ;  considering  him  the  highest  authority  on  military  af- 
fairs. He  was  frequently  called  from  home,  therefore,  in  the 
course  of  the  winter  and  spring,  to  different  parts  of  the  country 
to  review  independent  companies  ;  all  of  which  were  anxious 
to  put  themselves  under  his  command  as  field-officer. 

Mount  Vernon,  therefore,  again  assumed  a  military  tone  as 
in  former  days,  when  he  took  his  first  lessons  there  in  the  art' 
of  war.  He  had  his  old  campaigning  associates  with  him  oc- 
casionally. Dr.  Craik  and  captain  Hugh  Mercer,  to  talk  of  past 
scenes  and  discuss  the  possibility  of  future  service.  Mercer 
was  already  bestirring  himself  in  disciplining  the  militia  about 
Fredericksburg,  where  he  resided. 

Two  occasional  and  important  guests  at  Mount  Vernon,  in 
this  momentous  crisis,  were  General  Charles  Lee,  of  whom  we 
have  just  spoken,  and  Major  Horatio  Gates.  As  the  latter  is 
destined  to  occupy  an  important  page  in  this  memoir,  we  will 
give  a  few  particulars  concerning  him.  He  was  an  Englishman 
by  birth,  the  son  of  a  captain  in  the  British  army.  Horace 
Walpole,  whose  Christian  name  he  bore,  speaks  of  him  in  one 
of  his  letters  as  his  godson,  though  some  have  insinuated  that 
he  stood  in  filial  relationship  of  a  less  sanctified  character.  He 
had  received  a  liberal  education,  and,  when  but  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  had  served  as  a  volunteer  under  General  Edward 
Cornwallis,  Governor  of  Halifax.  He  was  afterwards  captain 
of  a  New  York  independent  company,  with  which,  it  may  be 
remembered,  he  marched  in  the  campaign  of  Braddock,  in  which 
he  was  severely  wounded.  For  two  or  three  subsequent  years 
he  was  with  his  company  in  the  western  part  of  the  province  of 
'New  York,  receiving  the  appointment  of  brigade  major.     He 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  267 

accompanied  General  Monckton  as  aide-de-camp  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  gained  credit  at  the  capture  of  Martinico.  Being 
despatched  to  London  with  tidings  of  the  victory,  he  was  re- 
warded by  the  appointment  of  major  to  a  regiment  of  foot ;  and 
afterwards,  as  a  special  mark  of  royal  favor,  a  majority  in  the 
E-oyal  Americans.  His  promotion  did  not  equal  his  expecta- 
tions and  fancied  deserts.  He  was  married,  and  wanted  some- 
thing more  lucrative ;  so  he  sold  out  on  half  pay  and  became 
an  applicant  for  some  profitable  post  under  the  government, 
which  he  hoped  to  obtain  through  the  influence  of  Greneral 
Monckton  and  some  friends  in  the  aristocracy.  Thus  several 
years  were  passed,  partly  with  his  family  in  retirement,  partly 
in  London,  paying  court  to  patrons  and  men  in  power,  until 
finding  there  was  no  likelihood  of  success,  and  having  sold  his 
commission  and  half-pay,  he  emigrated  to  Virginia  in  1772,  a 
disappointed  man ;  purchased  an  estate  in  Berkeley  County, 
beyond  the  Blue  Bidge ;  espoused  the  popular  cause,  and  re- 
newed his  old  campaigning  acquaintance  with  Washington. 

He  was  not  about  forty-six  years  of  age,  of  a  florid  complexion 
and  goodly  presence,  though  a  little  inclined  to  corpulency ;  so- 
cial, insinuating,  and  somewhat  specious  in  his  manners,  with 
a  strong  degree  of  self-approbation.  A  long  course  of  solicita- 
tion, haunting  public  offices  and  antechambers,  and  "  knocking 
about  town,"  had  taught  him,  it  is  said,  how  to  wheedle  and 
flatter,  and  accommodate  himself  to  the  humors  of  others,  so  as 
to  be  the  boon  companion  of  gentlemen,  and  "  hail-fellow  well 
met "  with  the  vulgar. 

Lee,  who  was  an  old  friend  and  former  associate  in  arms,  had 
recently  been  induced  by  him  to  purchase  an  estate  in  his  neigh- 
borhood in  Berkeley  County,  with  a  view  to  making  it  his 
abode,  having  a  moderate  competency,  a  claim  to  land  on  the 
Ohio,  and  the  half-pay  of  a  British  colonel.  Both  of  these  of- 
ficers, disappointed  in  the  British  service,  looked  forward,  prob- 
ably, to  greater  success  in  the  patriot  cause. 

Lee  had  been  at  Philadelphia  since  his  visit  to  Boston,  and 
had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  leading  members  of  Con- 
gress during  the  session.  He  was  evidently  cultivating  an  in- 
timacy with  every  one  likely  to  have  influence  in  the  approach- 
ing struggle. 

To  Washington  the  visits  of  these  gentlemen  were  extremely 
welcome  at  this  juncture,  from  their  military  knowledge  and 
experience,  espacially  as  much  of  it  had  been  acquired  in 
America,  in  the  same  kind  of  warfare,  if  not  the  very  same 
campaigns  in  which  he  himself  had  mingled.  Both  were  in- 
terested in  the  popular  cause.     Lee  was  full  of  plans  for  the  or- 


258  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ganization  and  disciplining  of  the  militia,  and  occasionally  ac- 
companied Washington  in  his  attendance  on  provincial  reviews. 
He  was  subsequently  very  efficient  at  Annapolis  in  promot- 
ing and  superintending  the  organization  of  the  Maryland  mil- 
itia. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  visits  to  Lee  were  as  interesting 
to  Mrs.  Washington  as  to  the  general.  He  was  whimsical,  ec- 
centric, and  at  times  almost  rude  ;  negligent  also,  and  slovenly 
in  person  and  attire  ;  for  though  he  had  occasionally  associated 
with  kings  and  princes,  he  had  also  campaigned  with  Mohawks 
and  Cossacks,  and  seems  to  have  relished  their  "  good  breeding." 
What  was  still  more  annoying  in  a  well-regulated  mansion,  he 
was  always  followed  by  a  legion  of  dogs,  which  shared  his  affec- 
tions with  his  horses,  and  took  their  seats  by  him  when  at  table. 

"  I  must  have  some  object  to  embrace,"  said  he  misanthropi- 
cally.  "  When  I  can  be  convinced  that  men  are  as  worthy  ob- 
jects as  dogs,  I  shall  transfer  my  benevolence,  and  become  as 
staunch  as  philanthropist  as  the  canting  Addison  affected  to 
be."  =* 

In  his  passion  for  horses  and  dogs,  Washington,  to  a  certain 
degree,  could  sympathize  with  him,  and  had  noble  specimens  of 
both  in  his  stable  and  kennel,  which  Lee  doubtless  inspected 
with  a  learnad  eye.  During  the  season  in  question,  Washing- 
ton, according  to  his  diary,  was  occasionally  in  the  saddle  at  an 
early  hour  following  the  fox-hounds.  It  was  the  last  time  for 
many  a  year  that  he  was  to  gallop  about  his  beloved  hunting- 
grounds  of  Mount  Vernon  and  Belvoir. 

In  the  month  of  March  the  second  Virginia  convention  was 
held  at  Richmond.  Washington  attended  as  delegate  from 
Fairfax  ,  County.  In  this  assembly,  Patrick  Henry,  with  his 
usual  ardor  and  eloquence,  advocated  measures  for  embodying, 
arming,  and  disciplining  a  militia  force,  and  providing  for  the 
defense  of  the  colony.  "  It  is  useless,"  said  he,  "  to  address 
further  petitions  to  government,  or  to  await  the  effect  of  those 
already  addressed  to  the  throne.  The  time  for  supplication  is 
past ;  the  time  for  action  is  at  hand.  We  must  fight,  Mr. 
Speaker,"  exclaimed  he,  emphatically ;  "  I  repeat  it,  sir,  we  mpst 
fight !  An  appeal  to  arms,  and  to  the  God  of  Hosts,  is  all  that 
is  left  us  !  " 

Washington  joined  him  in  the  conviction,  and  was  one  of  a 
committee  that  reported  a  plan  for  carrying  those  measures  into 
effect.  He  was  not  an  impulsive  man  to  raise  the  battle-cry,  but 
the  executive  man  to  marshal  the  troops  into  the  field,  and 
carry  on  the  war. 

*  Lee  to  Adams.     L\fe  and  Works  of  Adams,  ii.  414. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  '         259 

His  brother,  John  Augustine,  was  raising  and  disciplining 
an  independent  company  ;  Washington  offered  to  accept  the 
command  of  it  should  occasion  require  it  to  he  drawn  out.  He 
did  the  same  with  respect  to  an  independent  company  at  Rich- 
mond. "  It  is  my  full  intention,  if  needful,"  writes  he  to  his 
brother,  "  to  devote  my  life  and  fortune  to  the  cause"  * 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

INFATUATION  IN   BRITISH  COUNCILS. — COL.  GRANT,  THE   BRAG- 
GART.  COERCIVE     MEASURES. EXPEDITION     AGAINST     THE 

MILITARY  MAGAZINE  AT  CONCORD. BATTLE  OF  LEXINGTON. 

THE  CRY  OF  BLOOD  THROUGH  THE  LAND. OLD  SOLDIERS  OF 

THE  FRENCH  WAR. JOHN  STARK. ISRAEL  PUTNAM. RIS- 
ING OF  THE  YEOMANRY. — MEASURES  OF  LORD  DUNMORE  IN 
VIRGINIA. INDIGNATION  OP  THE  VIRGINIANS. HUGH  MER- 
CER AND  THE  FRIENDS  OF  LIBERTY. ARRIVAL  OF  THE  NEWS 

OF    LEXINGTON    AT     MOUNT    VERNON. EFFECT     ON     BRYAN 

FAIRFAX,  GATES,  AND  WASHINGTON. 

While  the  spirit  of  revolt  was  daily  gaining  strength  and 
determination  in  America,  a  strange  infatuation  reigned  in  the 
British  councils.  While  the  wisdom  and  eloquence  of  Chatham 
were  exerted  in  vain  in  behalf  of  American  rights,  an  empty 
braggadocio,  elevated  to  a  seat  in  Parliament,  was  able  to  cap- 
tivate the  attention  of  the  members,  and  influence  their  votes 
by  gross  misrepresentations  of  the  Americans  and  their  cause. 
This  was  no  other  than  Colonel  Grant,  the  same  shallow  soldier 
who,  exceeding  his  instructions,  had  been  guilty  of  a  foolhardy 
bravado  before  the  walls  of  Fort  Duquesne,  which  brought 
slaughter  and  defeat  upon  his  troops.  Prom  misleading  the 
army,  he  was  now  promoted  to  a  station  where  he  might  mis- 
lead the  councils  of  his  country.  We  are  told  that  he  enter- 
tained Parliament,  especially  the  ministerial  side  of  the  House, 
with  ludicrous  stories  of  the  cowardice  of  Americans.  He  had 
served  with  them,  he  said,  and  knew  them  well,  and  would  ven- 
ture to  say  that  they  would  never  dare  to  face  an  English 
army ;  that  they  were  destitute  of  every  requisite  to  make  good 
soldiers,  and  that  a  very  slight  force  would  be  sufficient  for  theii: 

*  I^etter  to  Jolju  Augustine.    Sparks,  iv.  405* 


260  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

complete  reduction.  With  five  regiments  he  could  march 
through  all  America ! 

How  often  has  England  been  misled  to  her  cost  by  such  slander- 
ous misrepresentations  of  the  American  character  !  Grant  talked 
of  having  served  with  the  Americans  ;  had  he  already  forgotten 
that  in  the  field  of  Braddock's  defeat,  when  the  British  regulars 
fled,  it  was  alone  the  desperate  stand  of  a  handful  of  Virginians, 
which  covered  their  disgraceful  flight,  and  saved  them  from 
being  overtaken  and  massacred  by  the  savages  ? 

This  taunting  and  braggart  speech  of  Grant  was  made  in  the 
face  of  the  conciliatory  bill  of  the  venerable  Chatham,  devised 
with  a  view  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  America.  The  councils  of 
the  arrogant  and  scornful  prevailed ;  and  instead  of  the  proposed 
bill,  further  measures  of  a  stringent  nature  were  adopted,  coer- 
cive of  some  of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  but  ruinous 
to  the  trade  and  fisheries  of  New  England. 

At  length  the  bolt,  so  long  suspended,  fell !  The  troops  at 
Boston  had  been  augmented  to  about  four  thousand  men. 
Goaded  on  by  the  instigations  of  the  tories,  and  alarmed  by  the 
energetic  measures  of  the  whigs.  General  Gage  now  resolved  to 
deal  the  latter  a  crippling  blow.  This  was  to  surprise  and  de- 
stroy their  magazine  of  military  stores  at  Concord,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Boston.  It  was  to  be  effected  on  the  night  of  the 
18th  of  April,  by  a  force  detached  for  the  purpose. 

Preparations  were  made  with  great  secrecy.  Boats  for  the 
transportation  of  the  troops  were  launched,  and  moored  under 
the  sterns  of  the.  men-of-war.  Grenadiers  and  light  infantry 
were  relieved  from  duty  and  held  in  readiness.  On  the  18th 
officers  were  stationed  on  the  roads  leading  from  Boston  to  prevent 
any  intelligence  of  the  expedition  getting  into  the  country.  At 
night  orders  were  issued  by  General  Gage  that  no  person  should 
leave  the  town.  About  ten  o^clock,  from  eight  to  nine  hundred 
men,  grenadiers,  light  infantry,  and  marines,  commanded  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Smith,  embarked  in  the  boats  at  the  foot  of 
Boston  Common,  and  crossed  to  Lechmere  Point,  in  Cambridge, 
whence  they  were  to  march  silently,  and  without  beat  of  drum, 
to  the  place  of  destination. 

The  measures  of  General  Gage  had  not  been  shrouded  in  all 
the  secrecy  he  imagined.  Mystery  often  defeats  itself  by  the 
suspicions  it  awakens.  Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  one  of  the  committee 
of  safety,  had  observed  the  preparatory  disposition  of  the  boats 
and  troops,  and  surmised  some  sinister  intention.  He  sent  no- 
tice of  these  movements  to  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams, 
both  members  of  the  provincial  Congress,  but  at  that  time  pri- 
vately sojourning  with  a  friend  at  Lexington.     A  design  on  the 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  261 

magazine  at  Concord  was  suspected,  and  the  committee  of  safety- 
ordered  that  the  cannon  collected  there  should  be  secreted,  and 
part  of  the  stores  removed. 

On  the  night  of  the  18th  Dr.  Warren  sent  off  two  messengers 
by  different  routes  to  give  the  alarm  that  the  king's  troops  were 
actually  sallying  forth.  The  messengers  got  out  of  Boston  just 
before  the  order  of  General  Gage  went  into  effect,  to  prevent 
any  one  from  leaving  the  town.  About  the  same  time  a  lantern 
was  hung  out  of  an  upper  window  of  the  north  church,  in  the 
direction  of  Charlestown.  This  was  a  preconcerted  signal  to  the 
patriots  of  that  place,  who  instantly  dispatched  swift  messengers 
to  rouse  the  country. 

In  the  meantime  Colonel  Swift  set  out  on  his  nocturnal  march 
from  Lechmere  Point  by  an  unfrequented  path  across  marshes, 
where  at  times  the  troops  had  to  wade  through  water.  He  had 
proceeded  but  a  few  miles  when  alarm  guns,  booming  through 
the  night  air,  and  the  clang  of  village  bells,  showed  that  the 
news  of  his  approach  was  travelling  before  him,  and  the  people 
were  rising.  He  now  sent  back  to  General  Gage  for  a  rein- 
forcement, while  Major  Pitcairn  was  detached  with  six  com- 
panies to  press  forward  and  secure  the  bridges  at  Concord. 

Pitcairn  advanced  rapidly,  capturing  every  one  he  met  or 
overtook.  Within  a  mile  of  Lexington,  however,  a  horseman 
was  too  quick  on  the  spur  for  him,  and  galloping  to  the  village 
gave  the  alarm  that  the  red-coats  were  coming.  Drums  were 
beaten;  guns  fired.  By  the  time  that  Pitcairn  entered  the 
village,  about  seventy  or  eighty  of  the  yeomanry,  in  military 
array,  were  mustered  on  the  green  near  the  church.  It  was  a 
part  of  the  "constitutional  army,"  pledged  to  resist  by  force 
any  open  hostility  of  British  troops.  Besides  these,  there  was  a 
number  of  lookers-on,  armed  and  unarmed. 

The  sound  of  drum,  and  the  array  of  men  in  arms,  indicated 
a  hostile  determination.  Pitcairn  halted  his  men  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  church,  and  ordered  them  to  prime  and  load. 
They  then  advanced  at  double  quick  time.  The  major,  riding 
forward,  waved  his  sword,  and  ordered  the  rebels,  as  he  termed 
them,  to  disperse.  Other  of  the  officers  echoed  his  words  as 
they  advanced  :  "  Disperse,  ye  villains  !  Lay  down  your  arms, 
ye  rebels,  and  disperse ! "  The  orders  were  disregarded.  A 
scene  of  confusion  ensued,  with  firing  on  both  sides  ;  which 
party  commenced  it,  has  been  a  matter  of  dispute.  Pitcairn 
always  maintained  that,  finding  the  militia  would  not  disperse, 
he  turned  to  order  his  men  to  draw  out,  and  surround  them, 
when  he  saw  a  flash  in  the  pan  from  the  gun  of  a  countryman 
posted  behind  a  wall,  and  almost  instantly  the  report  of  two  or 


"2,^2  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

three  muskets.  These  he  supposed  to  be  from  the  Americans, 
as  his  horse  was  wounded,  as  was  also  a  soldier  close  by  him. 
His  troops  rushed  on,  and  a  promiscuous  fire  took  place,  though, 
as  he  declared,  he  made  repeated  signals  with  his  sword  for  his 
men  to  forbear. 

The  firing  of  the  Americans  was  irregular,  and  without  much 
effect ;  that  of  the  British  was  more  fatal.  Eight  of  the  patriots 
were  killed,  and  ten  wounded,  and  the  whole  put  to  flight.  The 
victors  formed  on  the  common,  fired  a  volley,  and  gave  three 
cheers  for  one  of  the  most  inglorious  and  disastrous  triumphs 
ever  achieved  by  British  arms. 

Colonel  Smith  soon  arrived  with  the  residue  of  the  detach- 
ment, and  they  all  marched  on  towards  Concord,  about  six 
miles  distant. 

The  alarm  had  reached  that  place  in  the  dead  hour  of  the 
preceding  night.  The  church  bell  roused  the  inhabitants.  They 
gathered  together  in  anxious  consultation.  The  militia  and 
minute  men  seized  their  arms,  and  repaired  to  the  parade  ground, 
near  the  church.  Here  they  were  subsequently  joined  by  armed 
yeomanry  from  Lincoln,  and  elsewhere.  Exertion§  were  now 
made  to  remove  and  conceal  the  military  stores.  A  scout,  who  had 
been  sent  out  for  intelligence,  brought  word  that  the  British 
had  fired  upon  the  people  at  Lexington,  and  were  advancing  up- 
on Concord.  There  was  great  excitement  and  indignation. 
Part  of  the  militia  marched  down  the  Lexington  road  to  meet 
them,  but  returned,  reporting  their  force  to  be  three  times  that 
of  the  Americans.  The  whole  of  the  militia  now  retired  to  an 
eminence  about  a.  mile  from  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  formed 
themselves  into  two  battalions. 

About  seven  o'clock,  the  British  came  in  sight,  advancing 
with  quick  step,  their  arms  glittering  in  the  morning  sun.  They 
entered  in  two  divisions  by  different  roads.  Concord  is  trav- 
ersed by  a  river  of  the  same  name,  having  two  bridges,  the 
north  and  the  south.  The  grenadiers  and  light  infantry  took 
post  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  while  strong  parties  of  light 
troops  were  detached  to  secure  the  bridges  and  destroy  the  mil- 
itary stores.  Two  hours  were  expended  in  the  work  of  de- 
struction without  much  success,  so  much  of  the  stores  having 
been  removed  or  concealed.  During  all  this  time  the  yeomanry 
from  the  neighboring  towns  were  hurrying  in  with  such  wea- 
pons as  were  at  hand,  and  joining  the  militia  on  the  height, 
until  the  little  cloud  of  war  gathering  there  numbered  about 
four  hundred  and  fifty. 

About  ten  o'clock,  a  body  of  three  hundred  undertook  to  dis- 
lodge the  British  from  the  north  bridge.     As  they  approached 


^         LIFE  OF  WASBINGTON.  263 

the  latter  fired  upon  them,  killing  two,  and  wounding  a  third. 
The  patriots  returned  the  fire  with  spirit  and  ^ffect.  The 
British  retreated  to  the  main  body,  the  Americans  pursuing 
them  across  the  bridge. 

By  this  time  all  the  military  stores  which  could  be  found 
had  been  destroyed ;  Colonel  Smith,,  therefore,  made  prepara- 
tions for  a  retreat.  The  scattered  troops  were  collected,  the 
dead  were  buried,  and  conveyances  procured  for  the  wounded. 
About  noon  he  commenced  his  retrograde  march  for  Boston. 
It  was  high  time.  His  troops  were  jaded  by  the  night  march, 
and  the  morning's  toils  and  skirmishings. 

The  country  was  thoroughly  alarmed.  The  yeomanry  were 
hurrying  from  every  quarter  to  the  scene  of  action.  As  the 
British  began  their  retreat,  the  Americans  began  the  work  of 
sore  and  galling  retaliation.  Along  the  open  road,  the  former 
were  harrassed  incessantly  by  rustic  marksmen,  who  took  de- 
liberate aim  from  behind  trees,  or  over  stone  fences.  Where 
the  road  passed  through  woods,  the  British  found  themselves 
between  two  fires,  dealt  by  unseen  foes,  the  minute  men  having 
posted  themselves  on  each  side  among  the  bushes.  It  was  in 
vain  they  threw  out  flankers,  and  endeavored  to  dislodge  their 
assailants  ;  each  pause  gave  time  for  other  pursuers  to  come 
within  reach,  and  open  attacks  from  different  quarters.  For 
several  miles  they  urged  their  way  along  woody  defiles,  or 
roads  skirted  with  fences  and  stone  walls,  the  retreat  growing 
more  and  more  disastrous  ;  some  were  shot  down,  some  gave 
out  through  mere  exhaustion  ;  the  rest  hurried  on,  without 
stopping  to  aid  the  fatigued  or  wounded.  Before  reaching  Lex- 
ington, Colonel  Smith  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  leg,  and 
the  situation  of  the  retreating  troops  was  becoming  extremely 
critical,  when,  about  two  o'clock,  they  were  met  by  Lord  Percy, 
with  a  brigade  of^one  thousand  men,  and  two  field  pieces.  His 
lordship  had  been  detached  from  Boston  about  nine  o'clock  by 
General  Gage,  in  compliance  with  Colonel  Smith's  urgent  call 
for  a  reinforcement,  and  had  marched  gayly  through  Eoxbury 
to  the  tune  of  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  in  derision  of  the  "  rebels." 
He  now  found  the  latter  a  more  formidable  foe  than  he  had  an- 
ticipated. Opening  his  brigade  to  the  right  and  left,  he  re- 
ceived the  retreating  troops  into  a  hollow  square  ;  where,  faint- 
ing and  exhausted,  they  threw  themselves  on  the  ground  to 
rest.  His  lordship  showed  no  disposition  to  advance  upon  their 
assailants,  but  contented  himself  with  keeping  them  at  bay 
with  his  field-pieces,  which  opened  a  vigorous  fire  from  an  emi- 
nence. 

Hitherto  the  provincials,  being  hasty  levies,  without  a  leader, 


264  ilF-E?  OW  WASHINGTON. 

had  acted  from  individual  impulse,  without  much  concert ;  but 
now  General  Heath  was  upon  the  ground.  He  was  one  of 
those  authorized  to  take^  command  when  the  minute  men  should 
be  called  out.  That  class  of  combatants  promptly  obeyed  his 
orders,  and  he  was  efficacious  in  rallying  them,  and  bringing 
them  into  military  order,  when  checked  and  scattered  by  the 
fire  of  the  field-pieces. 

Dr.  Warren,  also,  arrived  on  horseback,  having  spurred  from 
Boston  on  receiving  news  of  the  skirmishing.  In  the  subse- 
quent part  of  the  day,  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  effi- 
cient men  in  the  field.  His  presence,  like  that  of  General 
Heath,  regulated  the  infuriated  ardor  of  the  militia,  and  brought 
it  into  system. 

Lord  Percy,  having  allowed  the  troops  a  short  interval  for 
repose  and  refreshment,  continued  the  retreat  toward  Boston. 
As  soon  as  he  got  under  march,  the  galling  assault  by  the  pur- 
suing yeomanry  was  recommenced  in  flank  and  rear.  The 
British  soldiery,  irritated  in  turn,  acted  as  if  in  an  enemy's 
country.  Houses  and  shops  were  burnt  down  in  Lexington ; 
private  dwellings  along  the  road  were  plundered,  and  their  in- 
habitants maltreated.  In  one  instance,  an  unoffending  invalid 
was  wantonly  slain  in  his  own  house.  All  this  increased  the 
exasperation  of  the  yeomanry.  There  was  occasional  sharp 
skirmishing,  with  bloodshed  on  both  sides,  but  in  general  a 
dogged  pursuit,  where  the  retreating  troops  were  galled  at  every 
step.  Their  march  became  more  and  more  impeded  by  the 
number  of  their  wounded.  Lord  Percy  narrowly  escaped  death 
from  a  musket  ball,  which  struck  off  a  button  of  his  waistcoat. 
One  of  his  officers  remained  behind  wounded  in  West  Cam- 
bridge. His  ammunition  was  failing  as  he  approached  Charles- 
town.  The  provincials  pressed  upon  him  in  rear,  others  were 
advancing  from  Boxbury,  Dorchester,  and  •Milton;  Colonel 
Pickering,  with  the  Essex  militia,  seven  hundred  strong,  was  at 
hand  ;  there  was  danger  of  being  intercepted  in  the  retreat  to 
Charlestown.  The  field-pieces  were  again  brought  into  play, 
to  check  the  ardor  of  the  pursuit ;  but  they  were  no  longer  ob- 
jects of  terror.  The  sharpest  firing  of  the  provincials  was  near 
Prospect  Hill,  as  the  harassed  enemy  hurried  along  the  Charles- 
town  road,  eager  to  reach  the  Neck,  and  get  under  cover  of  their 
ships.  The  pursuit  terminated  a  little  after  sunset,  at  Charles- 
town  Common,  where  General  Heath  brought  the  minute  men 
to  a  halt.  Within  half  an  hour  more,  a  powerful  body  of  men, 
from  Marblehead  and  Salem,  came  up  to  join  in  the  chase. 
"  If  the  retreat,"  writes  Washington,  "  had  not  been  as  precip- 
itate as   it  was, — and   God  knows  it  could  not  well  have  been 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  265 

more  so, — the  ministerial  troops  must  have  surrendered,  or  been 
totally  cut  off." 

The  distant  firing  from  the  main  land  had  reached  the  British 
at  Boston.  The  troops  which,  in  the  morning,  had  marched 
through  K-oxhury,  to  the  tune  of  Yankee  Doodle,  might  have 
been  seen  at  sunset,  hounded  along  the  old  Cambridge  road  to 
Charleston  Neck,  by  mere  armed  yeomanry.  Gage  was  as- 
tounded at  the  catastrophe.  It  was  but  a  short  time  previous 
that  one  of  his  officers,  in  writing  to  friends  in  England,  scoffed 
at  the  idea  of  the  Americans  taking  up  arms.  "  Whenever  it 
comes  to  blows,"  said  he,  "  he  that  can  run  the  fastest,  will  think 
himself  well  off,  believe  me.  Any  two  regiments  here  ought  to 
be  decimated,  if  they  did  not  beat  in  the  field  the  whole  force 
of  the  Massachusects  province."  How  frequently,  throughout 
this  Revolution,  had  the  English  to  pay  the  penalty  of  thus 
undervaluing  the  spirit  they  were  provoking  ! 

In  this  memorable  affair,  the  British  loss  was  seventy-three 
killed,  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  wounded,  and  twenty-six 
missing.  Among  the  slain  were  eighteen  officers.  The  loss  of 
the  Americans  was  forty-nine  killed,  thirty-nine  wounded,  and 
five  missing.  This  was  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  revolutionary 
struggle ;  a  mere  drop  in  amount,  but  a  deluge  in  its  effects, — 
rending  the  colonies  forever  from  the  mother  country. 

The  cry  of  blood  from  the  field  of  Lexington  went  through 
the  land.  Kone  felt  the  ai:>peal  more  than  the  old  soldiers  of 
the  French  war.  It  roused  John  Stark,  of  New  Hampshire — a 
trapper  and  hunter  in  his  youth,  a  veteran  in  Indian  warfare,  a 
campaigner  under  Abercrombie  and  Amherst,  now  the  military 
oracle  of  a  rustic  neighborhood.  Within  ten  minutes  after  re- 
ceiving the  alarm,  he  was  spurring  towards  the  sea-coast,  and 
on  the  way  stirring  up  the  volunteers  of  the  Massachusetts 
borders,  to  assemble  forthwith  at  Bedford,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston. 

Equally  alert  was  his  old  comrade  in  frontier  exploits,  Colonel 
Israel  Putnam.  A  man  on  horseback,  with  a  drum,  passed 
through  his  neighborhood  in  Connecticut,  proclaiming  British 
violence  at  Lexington.  Putnam  was  in  the  field  ploughing,  as- 
sisted by  his  son.  In  an  instant  the  team  was  unyoked,  the 
plough  left  in  the  furrow,  the  lad  sent  home  to  give  word  of  his 
father's  departure,  and  Putnam,  on  horseback,  in  his  working 
garb,  urging  with  all  speed  to  the  camp.  Such  was  the  spirit 
aroused  throughout  the  country.  The  sturdy  yeomanry,  from  all 
parts,  were  hastening  toward  Boston  with  such  weapons  as  were 
at  hand  ;  and  happy  was  he  who  could  command  a  rusty  fowling- 
piece  and  a  powder-horn. 


266  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

The  news  reached  Virginia  at  a  critical  moment.  Lord  Dun- 
more,  obeying  a  general  order  issued  by  the  ministry  to  all  the 
provincial  governors,  had  seized  upon  the  military  munitions  of 
of  the  province.  Here  was  a  similar  measure  to  that  of  Gage. 
The  cry  went  forth  that  the  subjugation  of  the  colonies  was  to 
be  attempted.  All  Virginia  was  in  combustion.  The  standard 
of  liberty  was  reared  in  every  county ;  there  was  a  general  cry 
to  arms.  Washington  was  looked  to,  from  various  quarters,  to 
take  command.  His  old  comrade  in  arms,  Hugh  Mercer,  was 
about  marching  down  to  William sburgh  at  the  head  of  a  body 
of  resolute  men,  seven  hundred  strong,  entitled  "  The  friends  of 
constitutional  liberty  and  America,"  whom  he  had  organized 
and  drilled  in  Fredericksburg,  and  nothing  but  a  timely  con- 
cession of  Lord  Dunmore,  with  respect  to  some  powder  which 
he  had  seized,  prevented  his  being  beset  in  his  palace. 

Before  Hugh  Mercer  and  the  Friends  of  Liberty  disbanded 
themselves,  they  exchanged  a  mutual  pledge  to  reassemble  at  a 
moment's  warning,  whenever  called  on  to  defend  the  liberty  and 
rights  of  this  or  any  other  sister  colony. 

Washington  was  at  Mount  Vernon,  preparing  to  set  out  for 
Philadelphia  as  a  delegate  to  the  second  Congress,  when  he  re- 
ceived tidings  of  the  affair  at  Lexington.  Bryan  Fairfax  and 
Major  Horatio  Gates  were  his  guests  at  the  time.  They  all  re- 
garded the  event  as  decisive  in  its  consequences  ;  but  they  re- 
garded it  with  different  feelings.  The  worthy  and  gentle- 
spirited  Fairfax  deplored  it  deeply.  He  foresaw  that  it  must 
break  up  all  his  pleasant  relations  in  life  ;  arraying  his  dearest 
friends  against  the  government  to  which,  notwithstanding  the 
errors  of  its  policy,  he  was  loyally  attached  and  resolved  to 
adhere. 

Gates,  on  the  contrary,  viewed  it  with  the  eye  of  a  soldier 
and  a  place-hunter — hitherto  disappointed  in  both  capacities. 
This  event  promised  to  open  a  new  avenue  to  importance  and 
command,  and  he  determined  to  enter  upon  it. 

Washington's  feelings  were  of  a  mingled  nature.  They  may 
be  gathered  from  a  letter  to  his  friend  and  neighbor,  George 
William  Fairfax,  then  in  England,  in  which  he  lays  the  blame 
of  this  "  deplorable  affair  "  on  the  ministry  and  their  military 
agents  ;  and  concludes  with  the  following  words,  in  which  the 
yearnings  of  the  patriot  give  affecting  solemnity  to  the  implied 
resolve  of  the  soldier  :  "  Unhappy  it  is  to  reflect  that  a  brother's 
sword  has  been  sheathed  in  a  brother's  breast ;  and  that  the 
once  happy  and  peaceful  plains  of  America  are  to  be  either 
drenched  with  blood  or  inhabited  by  slaves.  Sad  alternative ! 
JBut  can  a  virtuous  man  hesitate  in  his  choice  f " 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  267 


CHAPTER  XXXYIII. 

ENLISTING  OF  TROOPS  IN  THE  EAST. CAMP   AT  BOSTON. GEN- 
ERAL ARTEMAS  WARD. — SCHEME  TO  SURPRISE  TICONDEROGA. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE  GRANTS. ETHAN  ALLEN  AND  THE  GREEN. 

MOUNTAIN    BOYS. BENEDICT    ARNOLD  AFFAIR  OF  TICONDE- 
ROGA AND  CROWN  POINT. A  DASH  AT  ST.  JOHN's. 

At  the  eastward,  the  march  of  the  Eevolution  went  on  with 
accelerated  speed.  Thirty  thousand  men  had  been  deemed 
necessary  for  the  defense  of  the  country.  The  provincial  Con- 
gress of  Massachusetts  resolved  to  raise  thirteen  thousand  six 
hundred,  as  its  quota.  Circular  letters,  also,  were  issued  by 
the  committee  of  safety,  urging  the  towns  to  enlish  troops  with 
all  speed,  and  calling  for  military  aid  from  the  other  New  Eng- 
land provinces. 

Their  appeals  were  promptly  answered.  Bodies  of  militia, 
and  parties  of  volunteers  from  New  Hampshire,  Ehode  Island, 
and  Connecticut,  hastened  to  join  the  minute  men  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  forming  a  camp  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston. 
With  the  troops  of  Connecticut,  came  Israel  Putnam,  having 
recently  raised  a  regiment  in  that  province,  and  received  from 
its  Assembly  the  commission  of  brigadier-general.  Some  of 
his  old  comrades  in  Prench  and  Indian  warfare,  had  hastened 
to  join  his  standard.  Such  were  two  of  his  captains,  Durkee 
and  Knowlton.  The  latter,  who  was  his  especial  favorite,  had 
fought  by  his  side  when  a  mere  boy. 

The  command  of  the  camp  was  given  to  Greneral  Artemas 
Ward,  already  mentioned.  He  was  a  native  of  Shrewsbury  in 
Massachusetts,  and  a  veteran  of  the  seven  years'  war — having 
served  as  lieutenant-colonel  under  Abercrombie.  He  had,  like- 
wise, been  a  member  of  the  legislative  bodies,  and  had  recently 
been  made,  by  the  provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  its  forces. 

As  affairs  were  now  drawing  to  a  crisis,  and  war  was  consid- 
ered inevitable,  some  bold  spirits  in  Connecticut  conceived  a 
project  for  the  outset.  This  was  the  surprisal  of  the  old  forts  of 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  already  famous  in  the  Prench  war. 
Their  situation  on  Lake  Champlain  gave  them  the  command  of 
the   main  route   to  Canada;  so  that   the  possession  of  them 


268  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

would  be  ail-important  in  case  of  hostilities.  They  were  feebly 
garrisoned  and  negligently  guarded,  and  abundantly  furnished 
with  artillery  and  military  stores,  so  much  needed  by  the 
patriot  army. 

This  scheme  was  set  on  foot  in  the  purlieus,  as  it  were,  of 
the  provincial  Legislature  of  Connecticut,  then  in  session.  It 
was  not  openly  sanctioned  by  that  body,  but  secretly  favored, 
and  money  lent  from  the  treasury  to  those  engaged  in  it.  A 
committee  was  appointed,  also,  to  accompany  them  to  the  fron- 
tier, aid  them  in  raising  troops,  and  exercise  over  them  a  de- 
gree of  superintendence  and  control. 

Sixteen  men  were  thus  enlisted  in  Connecticut,  a  greater 
number  in  Massachusetts,  but  the  greatest  accession  of  force 
was  from  what  was  called  the  "  New  Hampshire  Grants."  This 
was  a  region  having  the  Connecticut  River  on  one  side,  and 
Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson  E-iver  on  the  other — being, 
in  fact,  the  country  forming  the  present  State  of  Vermont.  It 
had  long  been  a  disputed  territory,  claimed  by  New  York  and 
New  Hampshire.  George  II.  had  decided  in  favor  of  New 
York ;  but  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire  had  made  grants  of 
between  one  and  two  hundred  townships  in  it,  whence  it  had 
acquired  the  name  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants.  The  settlers 
on  those  grants  resisted  the  attempts  of  New  York  to  eject 
them,  and  formed  themselves  into  an  association  called  the 
"  Green  Mountain  Boys."  Resolute,  strong-handed  fellows  they 
were,  with  Ethan  Allen  at  their  head,  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
but  brought  up  among  the  Green  Mountains.  He  and  his 
lieutenants,  Seth  Warner  and  Kemember  Baker,  were  outlawed 
by  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  and  rewards  offered  for  their 
apprehension.  They  and  their  associates  armed  themselves, 
set  New  York  at  defiance,  and  swore  they  would  be  the  death 
of  any  one  who  should  attempt  their  arrest. 

Thus  Ethan  Allen  was  becoming  a  kind  of  Eobin.  Hood 
among  the  mountains,  when  the  present  crisis  changed  the  rel- 
ative position  of  things  as  if  by  magic.  Boundary  feuds  were 
forgotten  amid  the  great  questions  of  colonial  rights.  Ethan 
Allen  at  once  stepped  forward,  a  patriot,  and  volunteered  with  his 
Green  Mountain  boys  to  serve  in  the  popular  cause.  He  was  well 
fitted  for  the  enterprise  in  question,  by  his  experience  as  a  fron- 
tier champion,  his  robustness  of  mind  and  body,  and  his  fearless 
spirit.  He  had  a  kind  of  rough  eloquence,  also,  that  was  very 
effective  with  his  followers.  "  His  style,"  says  one,  who  knew 
him  personally,  "  was  a  singular  compound  of  local  barbarisms. 
Scriptural  phrases,  and  oriental  wildness  ;  and  though  unclassic, 
and  sometimes  un grammatical,  was  highly  animated  and  forci- 


tmi:  OF  WASHINGTON.  269 

ble."  Washington,  in  one  of  his  letters,  says  there  was  "  an 
original  something  in  him  which  commanded  admiration." 

Thus  reinforced,  the  party,  now  two  hundred  and  seventy 
strong,  pushed  forward  to  Castleton,  a  place  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain.  Here  a  council  of  war  was 
held  on  the  2d  of  May.  Ethan  Allen  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  expedition,  with  James  Easton  and  Seth  Warner  as  second 
and  third  in  command.  Detachments  were  sent  off  to  Skenes- 
borough  (now  Whitehall,)  and  another  place  on  the  Lake,  with 
orders  to  seize  all  the  boats  they  could  find  and  bring  them  to 
Shoreham,  opposite  Ticonderoga,  whither  Allen  prepared  to 
proceed  with  the  main  body. 

At  this  juncture,  another  adventurous  spirit  arrived  at  Castle- 
ton. This  was  Benedict  Arnold,  since  so  sadly  renowned.  He, 
too,  had  conceived  the  project  of  surprising  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point ;  or,  perhaps,  had  caught  the  idea  from  its  first 
agitators  in  Connecticut — in  the  militia  of  which  province  he 
held  a  captain's  commission.  He  had  proposed  the  scheme  to 
the  Massachusetts  committee  of  safety.  It  had  met  their  ap- 
probation. They  had  given  him  a  colonel's  commission,  author- 
ized him  to  raise  a  force  in  Western  Massachusetts,  not  exceed- 
ing four  hundred  men,  and  furdished  him  with  money  and 
means.  Arnold  had  enlisted  but  a  few  ofiicers  and  men  when 
he  heard  of  the  expedition  from  Connecticut  being  on  the 
march.  He  instantly  hurried  on  with  one  attendant  to  over- 
take it,  leaving  his  few  recruits  to  follow,  as  best  they  could : 
in  this  way  he  reached  Castleton  just  after  the  council  of  war. 

Producing  the  colonel's  commission  received  from  the  Massa- 
chusetts committee  of  safety,  he  now  aspired  to  the  supreme 
command.  His  claims  were  disregarded  by  the  Green  Moun- 
tain Boys ;  they  would  follow  no  leader  but  Ethan  Allen.  As 
they  formed  the  majority  of  the  party,  Arnold  was  fain  to  ac- 
quiesce, and  serve  as  a  volunteer,  with  the  rank,  but  not  the 
command  of  colonel. 

The  party  arrived  at  Shoreham,  opposite  Ticonderoga,  on  the 
night  of  the  ninth  of  May.  The  detachment  sent  in  quest  of 
boats  had  failed  to  arrive.  There  were  a  few  boats  at  hand, 
with  which  the  transportation  was  commenced.  It  was  slow 
work ;  the  night  wore  away ;  day  was  about  to  break,  and  but 
eighty-three  men,  with  Allen  and  Arnold,  had  crossed.  Should 
they  wait  for  the  residue,  day  would  dawn,  the  garrison  wake, 
and  their  enterprise  might  fail.  Allen  drew  up  his  men,  ad- 
dressed them  in  his  own  emphatic  style,  and  announced  his  in- 
tention to  make  a  dash  at  the  fort,  without  waiting  for  more 
force.     "  It  is  a  desperate  attempt,"  said  he,  "  and  I  ask  no  man 


270  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

to  go  against  his  will.  I  will  take  the  lead,  and  be  the  first  to  ad- 
vance. You  that  are  willing  to  follow,  poise  your  firelocks." 
Not  a  firelock  but  was  poised. 

They  mounted  •  the  hill  briskly,  but  in  silence,  guided  by  a 
boy  from  the  neighborhood.  The  day  dawned  as  Allen  arrived 
at  a  sally  port.  A  sentry  pulled  trigger  on  him,  but  his  piece 
missed  fire.  He  retreated  through  a  covered  way.  Allen  and 
his  men  followed.  Another  sentry  thrust  at  Easton  with  his 
bayonet,  but  was  struck  down  by  Allen,  and  begged  for  quar- 
ter. It  was  granted  on  condition  of  his  leading  the  way  in- 
stantly to  the  quarters  of  the  commandant.  Captain  Delaplace, 
who  was  yet  in  bed.  Being  arrived  there,  Allen  thundered  at 
the  door,  and  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  fort.  By  this  time 
his  followers  had  formed  into  two  lines  on  the  parade-ground, 
and  given  three  hearty  cheers.  The  commandant  appeared  at 
his  door  half-dressed,  "  the  frightened  face  of  his  pretty  wife 
peering  over  his  shoulder."  He  gazed  at  Allen  in  bewildered 
astonishment.  "  By  whose  authority  do  you  act  ?  "  exclaimed 
he.  "  In  the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah,  and  the  Continental 
Congress !  "  replied  Allen,  with  a  flourish  of  his  sword,  and  an 
oath  which  we  do  not  care  to  subjoin. 

There  was  no  disputing  the  point.  The  garrison,  like  the 
commander,  had  been  startled  from  sleep,  and  made  prisoners 
as  they  rushed  forth  in  their  confusion.  A  surrender  accord- 
ingly took  place.  The  captain,  and  forty-eight  men,  which 
composed  his  garrison,  were  sent  prisoners  to  Hartford  in  Con- 
necticut. A  great  supply  of  military  and  naval  stores,  so  im- 
portant in  the  present  crisis,  was  found  in  the  fortress. 

Colonel  Seth  Warner,  who  had  brought  over  the  residue  of 
the  party  from  Shoreham,  was  now  sent  with  a  detachment 
against  Crown  Point,  which  surrendered  on  the  12th  of  May, 
without  firing  a  gun ;  the  whole  garrison  being  a  sergeant  and 
twelve  men.     Here  were  taken  upward  of  a  hundred  cannon. 

Arnold  now  insisted  vehemently  on  his  right  to  command 
•Ticonderoga ;  being,  as  he  said,  the  only  officer  invested  with 
legal  authority.  His  claims  had  again  to  yield  to  the  superior 
popularity  of  Ethan  Allen,  to  whom  the  Connecticut  committee, 
which  had  accompanied  the  enterprise,  gave  an  instrument  in 
writing,  investing  him  with  the  command  of  the  fortress  and  its 
dependencies,  until  he  should  receive  the  orders  of  the  Connec- 
ticut Assembly,  or  the  Continental  Congress.  Arnold,  while 
forced  to  acquiesce,  sent  a  protest,  and  a  statement  of  his  griev- 
ances to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  In  the  meantime,  his 
chagrin  was  appeased  by  a  new  project.  The  detachment 
originally  sent  to  seize  upon  boats  at  Skenesborough,  arrived 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  271 

with  a  schooner,  and  several  bateaux.  It  was  immediately  con- 
certed between  Allen  and  Arnold  to  cruise  in  them  down  the 
lake,  and  surprise  St.  John's  on  the  Sorel  River,  the  frontier 
post  of  Canada.  The  schooner  was  accordingly  armed  with 
cannon  from  the  fort.  Arnold,  who  had  been  a  seaman  in  his 
youtli,  took  the  command  of  her,  while  Allen  and  his  Green 
^lountain  Boys  embarked  in  the  bateaux. 

Arnold  outsailed  the  other  craft,  and  arriving  at  St.  John's, 
surprised  and  made  prisoners  of  a  sergeant  and  twelve  men  ; 
captured  a  king's  sloop  of  seventy  tons,  with  two  brass  six- 
pounders  and  seven  men  ;  took  four  bateaux,  destroyed  several 
others,  and  then,  learning  that  troops  were  on  the  way  from 
Montreal  and  Chamblee,  spread  all  his  sails  to  a  favoring 
breeze,  and  swept  up  the  lake  with  his  prizes  and  prisoners, 
and  some  valuable  stores,  which  he  had  secured. 

He  had  not  sailed  far  when  he  met  Ethan  Allen  and  the 
bateaux.  Salutes  were  exchanged ;  cannon  on  one  side,  mus- 
ketry on  the  other.  Allen  boarded  the  sloop,  learnt  from  Ar- 
nold the  particulars  of  his  success,  and  determined  to  push  on, 
take  possession  of  St.  John's  and  garrison  it  with  one  hundred 
of  his  Green  Mountain  Boys.  He  was  foiled  in  the  attempt  by 
the  superior  force  which  had  arrived ;  so  he  returned  to  his  sta- 
tion at  Ticonderoga. 

Thus  a  partisan  band,  unpracticed  in  the  art  of  war,  had,  by 
a  series  of  daring  exploits,  and  almost  without  the  loss  of  a  man, 
won  for  the  patriots  the  command  of  Lakes  George  and  Cham- 
plain,  and  thrown  open  the  great  highway  to  Canada, 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

SECOND  SESSION  OF  CONGRESS. JOHN  HANCOCK. PETITION  TO 

THE  KING. FEDERAL  UNION. MILITARY  MEASURES. DE- 
BATES ABOUT  THE  ARMY. QUESTION  AS  TO  COMMANDER-IN- 
CHIEF. APPOINTMENT  OF  WASHINGTON. OTHER  APPOINT- 
MENTS.  LETTERS  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  HIS  WIFE  AND  BROTHER. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEPARTURE. 

The  second  General  Congress  assembled  at  Philadelphia  on 
the  10th  of  May.  Peyton  Randolph  was  again  elected  as  presi- 
dent; but  being  obliged  to  return,  and  occupy  his  place  as 
Speaker  of  the  Virginia  Assembly,  John  Hancock,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  elevated  to  the  chair. 


272  I^IFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

A  lingering  feeling  of  attachment  to  the  mother  country, 
struggling  with  the  growing  spirit  of  self-government,  was 
manifested  in  the  proceedings  of  this  remarkable  body.  Many 
of  those  most  active  in  vindicating  colonial  rights,  and  Wash- 
ington among  the  number,  still  indulged  the  hope  of  an  event- 
ual reconciliation,  while  few  entertained,  or  at  least  avowed,  the 
idea  of  complete  independence. 

A  second  "humble  and  dutiful"  petition  to  the  king  was 
moved,  but  met  with  strong  opposition.  John  Adams  condemned 
it  as  an  imbecile  measure,  calculated  to  embarrass  the  proceed- 
ings of  Congress.  He  was  for  prompt  and  vigorous  action. 
Other  members  concurred  with  him.  Indeed,  the  measure 
itself  seemed  but  a  mere  form,  intended  to  reconcile  the  half- 
scrupulous  ;  for  subsequently,  when  it  was  carried.  Congress,  in 
face  of  it,  went  on  to  assume  and  exercise  the  powers  of  a  sover- 
eign authority.  A  federal  union  was  formed,  leaving  to  each 
colony  the  right  of  regulating  its  internal  affairs  according  to 
its  own  individual  constitution,  but  vesting  in  Congress  the 
power  of  making  peace  or  war ;  of  entering  into  treaties  and 
alliances  ;  of  regulating  general  commerce ;  in  a  word,  of  legis- 
lating on  all  such  matters  as  regarded  the  security  and  welfare 
of  the  whole  community. 

The  executive  power  was  to  be  vested  in  a  council  of  twelve, 
chosen  by  Congress  from  among  its  own  members,  and  to  hold 
office  for  a  limited  time.  Such  colonies  as  had  not  sent  dele- 
gates to  Congress,  might  yet  become  members  of  the  confeder- 
acy by  agreeing  to  its  conditions.  Georgia,  which  had  hitherto 
hesitated,  soon  joined  the  league,  which  thus  extended  from 
Nova  Scotia  to  Florida. 

Congress  lost  no  time  in  exercising  their  federated  powers. 
In  virtue  of  them,  they  ordered  the  enlistment  of  troops,  the 
construction  of  forts  in  various  parts  of  the  colonies,  the  provi- 
sion of  arms,  ammunition,  and  military  stores ;  while  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  these,  and  other  measures,  avowedly  of  self-de- 
fense, they  authorized  the  emission  of  notes  to  the  amount  of 
three  millions  of  dollars,  bearing  the  inscription  of  "The 
United  colonies ;"  the  faith  of  the  confederacy  being  pledged 
for  their  redemption. 

A  retaliating  decree  was  passed,  prohibiting  all  supplies  of 
provisions  to  the  British  fisheries  ;  and  another,  declaring  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  absolved  from  its  compact  with 
the  crown,  by  the  violation  of  its  charter ;  and  recommending 
it  to  form  an  internal  government  for  itself. 

The  public  sense  of  Washington's  military  talents  and  ex- 
perience was  evinced  iil  his  being  chairman  of  all  the  commit- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  273 

\  tees  appointed  for  military  affairs.  Most  of  the  rules  and  regu- 
\  lations  for  the  army,  and  the  measures  for  the  defense,  were 
\  devised  by  him. 

V  The  situation  of  the  New  England  army,  actually  besieging 
poston,  became  an  early  and  absorbing  consideration.  It  was 
vithout  munitions  of  war,  without  arms,  clothing,  or  pay  ;  in 
fict,  without  legislative  countenance  or  encouragement.  Unless 
sanctioned  and  assisted  by  Congress,  there  was  danger  of  its 
dissolution.  If  dissolved,  how  could  another  be  collected  ?  If 
dissolved,  what  would  there  be  to  prevent  the  British  from  sal- 
lying out  of  Boston,  and  spreading  desolation  throughout  the 
country  ? 

All  this  was  the  subject  of  much  discussion  out  of  doors. 
The  disposition  to  uphold  the  army  was  general ;  but  the  diffi- 
cult question  was,  who  should  be  commander-in-chief  ?  Adams, 
in  his  diary,  gives  us  glimpses  of  the  conflict  of  opinions  and 
interests  within  doors.  There  was  the  southern  party,  he  said, 
which  could  not  brook  the  idea  of  a  New  England  army,  com- 
manded by  a  New  England  general.  "  Whether  this  jealousy 
was  sincere,"  writes  he,  "  or  whether  it  was  mere  pride,  and  a 
haughty  ambition  of  furnishing  a  southern  general  to  command 
the  northern  army,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  the  intention  was  very 
visible  to  me,  that  Colonel  Washington  was  their  object ;  and 
so  many  of  our  stanchest  men  were  in  the  plan,  that  we  could 
carry  nothing  without  conceding  to  it.  There  was  another  em- 
barrassment, which  was  never  publicly  known,  and  which  was 
carefully  concealed  by  those  who  knew  it :  the  Massachusetts 
and  other  New  England  delegates  were  divided.  Mr.  Hancock 
and  Mr.  Gushing  hung  back  ;  Mr.  Paine  did  not  come  forward, 
and  even  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  was  irresolute.  Mr.  Hancock 
himself  had  an  ambition  to  be  appointed  commander-in-chief. 
Whether  he  thought  an  election  a  compliment  due  to  him,  and 
intended  to  have  the  honor  of  declining  it,  or  whether  he  would 
have  accepted  it,  I  know  not.  To  the  compliment,  he  had  some 
pretentions  ;  for  at  that  time,  his  exertions,  sacrifices,  and  gen- 
eral merits  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  had  been  incomparably 
greater  than  those  of  Colonel  Washington.  But  the  delicacy  of 
his  health,  and  his  entire  want  of  experience  in  actual  service, 
though  an  excellent  militia  officer,  were  decisive  objections  to 
him  in  my  mind." 

General  Charles  Lee  was  at  that  time  in  Philadelphia.  His 
former  visit  had  made  him  well  acquainted  with  the  leading 
members  of  Congress.  The  active  interest  he  had  manifested 
in  the  cause  was  well  known,  and  the  public  had  an  almost  ex- 
travagant idea  of  his  military  qualifications.    He  was  of  foreign 


274  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

birth,  however,  and  it  was  deemed  improper  to  confide  the  SU' 
preme  command  to  any  but  a  native-born  American.  In  fact, 
if  he  was  sincere  in  what  we  have  quoted  from  his  letter  to 
Burke,  he  did  not  aspire  to  such  a  signal  mark  of  confidence. 

The  opinion  evidently  inclined  in  favor  of  Washington  ;  yefc 
it  was  promoted  by  no  clique  of  partisans  or  admirers.  More 
than  one  of  the  Virginia  delegates,  says  Adams,  were  cool  en 
the  subject  of  this  appointment ;  and  particularly,  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton was  clear  and  full  against  it.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
add,  that  Washington  in  this,  as  in  every  other  situation  in 
life,  made  no  step  in  advance  to  clutch  the  impending  honor. 

Adams,  in  his  diary,  claims  the  credit  of  bringing  the  mem- 
bers of  Congress  to  a  decision.  Kising  in  his  place,  one  day, 
and  stating  briefly  but  earnestly,  the  exigencies  of  the  case,  he 
moved  that  Congress  should  adopt  the  army  at  Cambridge,  and 
appoint  a  general.  Though  this  was  not  the  time  to  nominate 
the  person,  "  yet,"  adds  he,  "as  I  had  reason  to  believe  this  was 
a  point  of  some  difficulty,  I  had  no  hesitation  to  declare,  that  I 
had  but  one  gentleman  in  my  mind  for  that  important  com- 
mand, and  that  was  a  gentleman  from  Virginia,  who  was  among 
us  and  very  well  known  to  all  of  us  ;  a  gentleman,  whose  skill 
and  experience  as  an  officer,  whose  independent  fortune  and 
great  talents,  and  excellent  universal  character  would  command 
the  approbation  of  all  America,  and  unite  the  cordial  exertions 
of  all  the  colonies  better  than  any  other  person  in  the  Union. 
Mr.  Washington,  who  happened  to  sit  near  the  door,  as  soon  as 
he  heard  me  allude  to  him,  from  his  usual  modesty,  darted  into 
the  library  room.  Mr.  .Hancock,  who  was  our  president,  which 
gave  me  an  opportunity  to  observe  his  countenance,  while  I  was 
speaking  on  the  state  of  the  colonies,  the  army  at  Cambridge, 
and  the  enemy,  heard  me  with  visible  pleasure  ;  but  when  I  came 
to  describe  Washington  for  the  commander,  I  never  remark- 
ed a  more  sudden  or  striking  change  of  countenance.  Mortifi- 
cation and  resentment  were  expressed  as  forcibly  as  his  face 
could  exhibit  them." 

"When  the  subject  came  under  debate,  several  delegates  op- 
posed the  appointment  of  Washington ;  not  from  personal  af- 
fections, but  because  the  army  were  all  from  New  England,  and 
had  a  general  of  their  own,  General  Artemas  Ward,  with  whom 
they  appeared  well  satisfied ;  and  under  whose  command  they 
had  proved  themselves  able  to  imprison  the  British  army  in 
Boston  ;  which  was  all  that  was  to  be  expected  or  desired." 

The  subject  was  postponed  to  a  future  day.  In  the  interim, 
pains  were  taken  out  of  doors  to  obtain  a  unanimity,  and  the 
voices  were  in  general  so  clearly  in  favor  of   Washington,  tha,t 


LIFE  OF  WASUINGTOm  275 

the  dissentient  members  were  persuaded  to  withdraw  their  op- 
position. 

\  On  the  15th  of  June,  the  army  was  regularly  adopted  by 
Cpngress,  and  the  pay  of  the  commander-in-chief  fixed  at  five 
hVndred  dollars  a  month.  Many  still  clung  to  the  idea,  that  in 
all  these  proceedings  they  were  merely  opposing  the  measures 
of  the  ministry,  and  not  the  authority  of  the  crown,  and  thus 
the  army  before  Boston  was  designated  as  the  Continental 
Army,  in  contradistinction  to  that  under  General  Gage,  which 
was  called  the  Ministerial  Army. 

In  this  stage  of  the  business,  Mr.  Johnson  of  Maryland,  rose, 
and  nominated  Washington  for  the  station  of  commander-in- 
chief.  The  election  was  by  ballot,  and  was  unanimous.  It  was 
formally  announced  to  him  by  the  president,  on  the  following 
day,  when  he  had  taken  his  seat  in  Congress.  Rising  in  his 
place,  he  briefly  expressed  his  high  and  grateful  sense  of  the 
honor  conferred  on  him,  and  his  sincere  devotion  to  the  cause. 
"  But,"  added  he,  "  lest  some  unlucky  event  should  happen  un- 
favorable to  my  reputation,  I  beg  it  may"  be  remembered  by 
every  gentleman  in  the  room,  that  I  this  day  declare,  with  the 
utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not  think  myself  equal  to  the  command 
I  am  honored  with.  As  to  pay,  I  beg  leave  to  assure  the 
Congress  that,  as  no  pecuniary  consideration  could  have  tempt- 
ed me  to  accept  this  arduous  employment,  at  the  expense  of  my 
domestic  ease  and  happiness.  I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  profit 
of  it.  I  will  keep  an  exact  account  of  my  expenses.  Those,  I 
doubt  not,  they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all  I  desire." 

"  There  is  something  charming  to  me  in  the  conduct  of 
"Washington,"  writes  Adams  to  a  friend  ;  "  a  gentleman  of  one 
of  the  first  fortunes  upon  the  continent,  leaving  his  delicious 
retirement,  his  family  and  friends,  sacrificing  his  ease,  and 
hazarding  all,  in  the  cause  of  his  country.  His  views  are 
noble  and  disinterested.  He  declared,  when  he  accepted  the 
mighty  trust,  that  he  would  lay  before  tIs  an  exact  account  of 
his  expenses,  and  not  accept  a  shilling  of  pay." 

Four  major-generals  were  to  be  appointed.  Among  those 
specified  were  General  Charles  Lee  and  General  Ward.  Mr. 
Mifflin  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  Lee's  especial  friend  and 
admirer,  urged  that  he  should  be  second  in  command.  "  Gen- 
eral Lee,"  said  he,  "  would  serve  cheerfully  under  Washington  ; 
but  considering  his  rank,  character,  and  experience,  could  not 
be  expected  to  serve  under  any  other.  He  mustHbe  aut  secun- 
diis,  aut  nullus. 

Adams,  on  the  other  hand,  as  strenuously  objected  that  it 
would  be  a  great  deal  to  expect  that   General  Ward,  who  was 


276  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

actually  in  command  of  the  army  of  Boston,  should  serve  under 
any  man  ;  hut  under  a  stranger  he  ought  not  to  serve.  Gen- 
eral Ward,  accordingly,  was  elected  the  second  in  command, 
and  Lee  the  third.  The  other  two  major-generals  were 
Philip  Schuyler  of  New  York,  and  Israel  Putnam  of  Con- 
necticut. Eight  brigadier-generals  were  likewise  appointed; 
Seth  Pomeroy,  E-ichard  Montgomery,  David  Wooster,  Wilham 
Heath,  Joseph  Spencer,  John  Thomas,  John  Sullivan,  and 
Nathaniel  Greene. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Mifflin's  objections  to  having  Lee 
ranked  under  Ward,  as  being  beneath  his  dignity  and  merits, 
he  himself  made  no  scruple  to  acquiesce ;  though,  judging 
from  his  supercilious  character,  and  from  circumstances  in  his 
subsequent  conduct,  he  no  doubt  considered  himself  vastly 
superior  to  the  provincial  officers  placed  over  him. 

At  Washington's  express  request,  his  old  friend,  Major 
Horatio  Gates,  then  absent  at  his  estate  in  Virginia,  was  ap- 
pointed adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier. 

Adams,  according  to  his  own  account,  was  extremely  loth  to 
admit  Lee  or  Gates  into  the  American  service,  although  he 
considered  them  officers  of  great  experience  and  confessed 
abilities.  He  apprehended  difficulties,  he  said,  from  the  "  nat- 
ural prejudices  and  virtuous  attachment  of  our  countrymen  to 
their  own  officers."  ^^  But,"  adds  he,  "  considering  the  earnest 
desire  of  General  Washington  to  have  the  assistance  of  those 
officers,  the  extreme  attachment  of  many  of  our  best  friends  in 
the  southern  colonies  to  them,  the  reputation  they  would  give 
to  our  arms  in  Europe,  and  especially  with  the  ministerial  gen- 
erals and  army  in  Boston,  as  well  as  the  real  American  merit  of 
both,  I  could  not  withhold  my  vote  from  either." 

The  reader  will  possibly  call  these  circumstances  to  mind 
when,  on  a  future  page,  he  finds  how  Lee  and  Gates  requited 
the  friendship  to  which  chiefly  they  owed  their  appointments. 

In  this  momentous,change  in  his  condition,  which  suddenly 
altered  all  his  course  of  life,  and  called  him  immediately  to  the 
camp,  Washington's  thoughts  recurred  to  Mount  Vernon,  and 
its  rural  delights,  so  dear  to  his  heart,  whence  he  was  to  be 
again  exiled.  His  chief  concern,  however,  was  on  account  of 
the  distress  it  might  cause  to  his  wife.  His  letter  to  her  on 
the  subject  is  written  in  a  tone  of  manly  tenderness.  ''You 
may  believe  me,"  writes  he,  "when  I  assure  you,  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  that,  so  far  from  seeking  this  appointment,  I 
have  used  every  endeavor  in  my  power  to  avoid  it,  not  only 
from  my  unwillingness  to  part  with  you  and  the  family,  but 
from  a  consciousness  of  its  being  a  trust  too  great  for  my  capac- 


X/FJE*  OF  WASHINGTON.  277 

\ity  ;  and  I  should  enjoy  more  real  liappiness  in  one  month  with 
you  at  home  than  I  have  the  most  distant  prospect  of  finding 
ahroad,  if  my  stay  were  to  he  seven  times  seven  years.  But  as 
it  has  heen  a  kind  of  destiny  that  has  thrown  me  upon  this 
service,  I  shall  hope  that  my  undertaking  it  is  designed  to  an- 
swer some  good  purpose 

"  I  shall  rely  confidently  on  that  Providence  which  has  hither- 
fore  preserved,  and  heen  bountiful  to  me,  not  doubting  but  that 
I  shall  return  safe  to  you  in  the  fall.  I  shall  feel  no  pain  from 
the  toil  or  danger  of  the  campaign ;  my  unhappiness  will  flow 
from  the  uneasiness  I  know  you  will  feel  from  being  left  alone. 
I  therefore  beg  that  you  will  summon  your  whole  fortitude, 
and  pass  your  time  as  agreeably  as  possible.  ISTothing  will 
give  me  so  much  sincere  satisfaction  as  to  hear  this,  and  to 
hear  it  from  your  own  pen." 

And  to  his  favorite  brother,  John  Augustine,  he  writes  :  "  I 
am  now  to  bid  adieu  to  you,  and  to  every  kind  of  domestic  ease, 
for  a  while.  I  am  embarked "  on  a  wide  ocean,  boundless  in  its 
prospect,  and  in  which,  perhaps,  no  safe  harbor  is  to  be  found. 
I  have  been  called  upon  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  colonies 
to  take  the  command  of  the  continental  array  ;  an  honor  I 
neither  sought  after,  nor  desired,  as  I  am  thoroughly  convinced 
that  it  requires  great  abilities,  and  much  more  experience  than 
I  am  master  of."  And  subsequently,  referring  to  his  wife  : 
"  I  shall  hope  that  my  friends  will  visit,  and  endeavor  to  keep 
up  the  spirits  of  my  wife  as  much  as  they  can,  for  my  departure 
will,  I  know,  be  a  cutting  stroke  upon  her ;  and  on  this  account 
alone  I  have  many  disagreeable  sensations." 

On  the  20th  of  June,  he  received  his  commission  from  the 
President  of  Congress.  The  following  day  was  fixed  upon  for 
his  departure  for  the  army.  He  reviewed  previously,  at  the  re- 
quest of  their  officers,  several  militia  companies  of  horse  and 
foot.  Every  one  was  anxious  to  see  the  new  commander,  and 
rarely  has  the  public  beau  ideal  of  a  commander  been  so  fully 
answered.  He  was  now  in  the  vigor  of  his  days,  forty-three 
years  of  age,  stately  in  person,  noble  in  his  demeanor,  calm  and 
dignified  in  his  deportment ;  as  he  sat  his  horse,  with  nianl}' 
grace,  his  military  presence  delighted  every  eye,  and  wherever 
he  went  the  air  rang  with  acclamations. 


278  T-IFE  OF  WASHINGTOl^. 


CHAPTEE  XL. 

MORE     TROOPS     ARRIVE    AT     BOSTON. GENERALS     HOWE,  BUR- 

GOYNE,  AND  CLINTON. PROCLAMATION    OF  GAGE. NATURE 

OF     THE     AMERICAN     ARMY. SCORNFUL      CONDUCT     OF    THE 

BRITISH  OFFICERS. PROJECT    OF    THE    AMERICANS  TO  SEIZE 

UPON  breed's  hill. — Putnam's  opinion  of  it.— sanctioned 

BY  PRESCOTT. NOCTURNAL  MARCH    OF  THE  DETACHMENT.— 

FORTIFYING  OF    BUNKER's    HILL. BREAK    OF    DAY,  AND  AS^ 

TONISHMENT  OF  THE   ENEMY. 

While  Congress  had  been  deliberating  on  the  adoption  of 
the  army,  and  the  nomination  of  a  commander-in-chief,  events 
had  been  thickening  and  drawing  to  a  crisis  in  the  excited 
region  about  Boston.  The  provincial  troops  which  blockaded  the 
town  prevented  supplies  by  land,  the  neighboring  country  re- 
fused to  furnish  them  by  water ;  fresh  provisions  and  vegetables 
were  no  longer  to  be  procured,  and  Boston  began  to  experience 
the  privations  of  a  besieged  city. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  arrived  ships  of  war  and  transports 
from  England,  bringing  large  reinforcements,  under  Generals 
Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Henry  Clinton,  commanders  of  high  rep- 
utation. 

As  the  ships  entered  the  harbor,  and  the  "  rebel  camp  "  was 
pointed  out, — ^ten  thousand  yeomanry  beleaguering  a  town  gar- 
risoned by  five  thousand  regulars, — Burgoyne  could  not  re- 
strain a  burst  of  surprise  and  scorn.  "  What !  "  cried  he,  "  ten 
thousand  peasants  keep  five  thousand  king's  troops  shut  up  ! 
Well,  let  us  get  in,  and  we'll  soon  find  elbow-room." 

Inspirited  by  these  reinforcements.  General  Gage  deter- 
mined to  take  the  field.  Previously,  however  in  conformity  to' 
instructions  from  Lord  Dartmouth,  the  head  of  the  war  depart- 
ment, he  issued  a  proclamation  (12th  June),  putting  the  prov- 
ince under  martial  law,  threatening  to  treat  as  rebels  and  trai- 
tors all  malcontents  who  should  continue  under  arms,  together 
with  their  aiders  and  abettors  ;  but  offering  pardon  to  all  who 
should  lay  down  their  arms,  and  return  to  their  allegiance. 
Erom  this  proffered  amnesty,  however,  John  Hancock  and  Sam- 
uel Adams  were  especially  excepted ;  their  offenses  being  pro- 
nounced too  "flagitious  not  to  meet  with  condign  punish- 
ment." 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  279 

This  proclamation  only  served  to  put  the  patriots  on  the  alert 
against  such  measures  as  might  he  expected  to  follow,  and  of 
which  their  friends  in  Boston  stood  ready  to  apprise  them.  The 
besieging  force,  in  the  meantime,  was  daily  augmented  by  re- 
cruits and  volunteers,  and  now  amounted  to  about  fifteen  thou- 
sand men  distributed  at  various  points.  Its  character  and  or- 
ganization were  peculiar.  As  has  well  been  observed,  it  could 
not  be  called  a  national  army,  for,  as  yet,  there  was  no  nation 
to  own  it ;  it  was  not  under  the  authority  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  the  act  of  that  body  recognizing  it  not  having  as  yet 
been  passed,  and  the  authority  of  that  body  itself  not  having 
been  acknowledged.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  fortuitous  assemblage  of 
four  distinct  bodies  of  troops,  belonging  to  different  provinces, 
and  each  having  a  leader  of  its  own  election.  About  ten  thou- 
sand belonged  to  Massachusetts,  and  were  under  the  command 
of  General  Artemas  Ward,  whose  head-quarters  were  at  Cam- 
bridge. Another  body  of  troops,  under  Colonel  John  Stark,  al- 
ready mentioned,  came  from  New  Hampshire.  Rhode  Island 
furnished  a  third,  under  the  command  of  General  Nathaniel 
Greene.  A  fourth  was  from  Connecticut,  under  the  veteran 
Putnam. 

These  bodies  of  troops,  being  from  different  colonies,  were 
independent  of  each  other,  and  had  their  several  commanders. 
Those  from  New  Hampshire  were  instructed  to  obey  General 
Ward  as  commander-in-chief ;  with  the  rest  it  was  a  voluntary 
act,  rendered  in  consideration  of  his  being  military  chief  of 
Massachusetts,  the  province  which,  as  allies,  they  came  to  de- 
fend. There  was,  in  fact,  but  little  organization  in  the  army. 
Nothing  kept  it  together,  and  gave  it  unity  of  action,  but  a 
common  feeling  of  exasperated  patriotism. 

The  troops  knew  but  little  of  military  discipline.  Almost 
all  were  familiar  with  the  use  of  fire-arms  in  hunting  and  fowl- 
ing ;  -many  had  served  in  frontier  campaigns  against  the  French, 
and  in  "  bush-fighting "  with  the  Indians  ;  but  none  were  ac- 
quainted with  regular  service  or  the  discipline  of  European 
armies.  There  was  a  regiment  of  artillery,  partly  organized  by 
Colonel  Gridley,  a  skillful  engineer,  and  furnished  with  nine 
field-pieces  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  troops  were  without 
military  dress  or  accoutrements  ;  most  of  them  were  hasty 
levies  of  yeomanry,  some  of  whom  had  seized  their  rifles  and 
fowling-pieces,  and  turned  out  in  their  working-clothes  and 
homespun  country  garbs.  It  was  an  army  of  volunteers,  sub- 
bordinate  through  inclination  and  respect  to  officers  of  their 
own  choice,  and  depending  for  sustenance  on  supplies  sent  from 
their  several  town. 


280  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Such  was  the  army  spread  over  an  extent  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles,  and  keeping  watch  upon  the  town  of  Boston,  containing 
at  that  time  a  population  of  seventeen  thousand  souls,  and  gar- 
risoned with  more  than  ten  thousand  British  troops,  disciplined 
and  experienced  in  the  wars  of  Europe. 

In  the  disposition  of  these  forces,  General  Ward  had  stationed 
himself  at  Cambridge,  with  the  main  body  of  about  nine  thou- 
sand men  and  four  companies  of  artillery.  Lieutenant-general 
Thomas,  second  in  command,  was  posted  with  five  thousand 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Khode  Island  troops,  and  three 
or  four  companies  of  artillery,  at  Boxbury  and  Dorchester, 
forming  the  right  wing  of  the  army  ;  while  the  left,  composed 
in  a  great  measure  of  New  Hampshire  troops,  stretched  through 
Medford  to  the  hills  of  Chelsea. 

It  was  a  great  annoyance  to  the  British  officers  and  soldiers, 
to  be  thus  hemmed  in  by  what  they  termed  a  rustic  rout  with 
calico  frocks  and  fowling-pieces.  The  same  scornful  and  taunt- 
ing spirit  prevailed  among  them,  that  the  cavaliers^  of  yore  in- 
dulged toward  the  Covenanters.  Considering  Episcopacy  as  the 
only  loyal  and  royal  faith,  they  insulted  and  desecrated 
the  "  sectarian "  places  of  worship.  One  was  turned  into 
a  riding-school  for  the  cavalry,  and  the  fire  in  the  stove  was 
kindled  with  books  from  the  library  of  its  pastor.  The  provin- 
cials retaliated  by  turning  the  Episcopal  church  at  Cambridge 
into  a  barrack,  and  melting  down  its  organ-pipes  into  bullets. 

Both  parties  panted  for  action ;  the  British  though  impa- 
tient of  their  humiliating  position,  and  eagerness  to  chastise 
w^hat  they  considered  the  presumption  of  their  besiegers  ;  the 
provincials  through  enthusiasm  in  their  cause,  a  thirst  for  enter- 
prise and  exploit,  and,  it  must  be  added,  an  unconsciousness  of 
their  own  military  deficiencies. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  peninsula  of  Charlestown 
(called  from  a  village  of  the  same  name),  which  lies  opposite  to 
the  north  side  of  Boston.  The  heights,  which  swell  up  in  rear 
of  the  village,  overlook  the  town  and  shipping.  The  project 
was  conceived  in  the  besieging  camp  to  seize  and  occupy  those 
heights.  A  council  of  ' war  was  held  upon  the  subject.  The 
arguments  in  favor  o  f  the  attempt  were,  that  the  army  was 
anxious  to  be  employed ;  that  the  country  was  dissatisfied  at 
its  inactivity,  and  that  the  enemy  might  thus  be  drawn  out  to 
ground  where  they  might  be  fought  to  advantage.  General 
Putnam  was  one  of  the  most  strenuous  in  favor  of  the  measure. 

Some  of  the  more  wary  and  judicious,  among  whom  were 
General  Ward  and  Dr.  Warren,  doubted  the  expediency  of  in- 
trenching themselves  on  those  heights,  and  the  possibility  of 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  281 

maintaining  so  exposed  a  post,  scajitily  furnished,  as  they  were, 
with  ordnance  and  ammunition.  Besides,  it  might  bring  on  a 
general  engagement,  which  it  was  not  safe  to  risk. 

Putnam  made  light  of  the  danger.  He  was  confident  of  the 
bravery  of  the  militia  if  intrenched,  having  seen  it  tried  in  the 
old  French  war.  ^^  The  Americans,"  said  he,  "  are  never  afraid 
of  their  heads  ;  they  are  only  afraid  of  their  legs  ;  shelter  them, 
and  they'll  fight  forever."  He  was  seconded  by  General  Pome- 
roy,  a  leader  of  like  stamp,  and  another  veteran  of  the  French 
war.  He  had  been  a  hunter  in  his  time ;  a  dead  shot  with  the 
rifle,  and  was  ready  to  lead  troops  against  the  enemy,  "with 
five  cartridges  to  a  man." 

The  daring  counsels  of  such  men  are  always  captivating  to 
the  inexperienced;  but  in  the  present  instance  they  were  sanc- 
tioned by  one  whose  opinion  in  such  matters,  and  in  this  vicinity, 
possessed  peculiar  weight.  This  was  Colonel  William  Prescott, 
of  Pepperell,  who  commanded  a  regiment  of  minute  men.  He, 
too,  had  seen  service  in  the  French  war,  and  acquired  reputa- 
tion as  a  lieutenant  of  infantry  at  the  capture  of  Cape  Breton. 
This  was  sufiicient  to  constitute  him  an  oracle  in  the  present 
instance.  He  was  now  about  fifty  years  of  age,  tall  and  com- 
manding in  his  appearance,  and  retaining  the  port  of  a  soldier. 
What  was  more,  he  had  a  military  garb,  being  equipped  with  a 
three-cornered  hat,  a  top  wig,  and  a  single-breasted  blue  coat, 
with  facings,  and  lapped  up  at  the  skirts.  All  this  served  to 
give  him  consequence  among  the  rustic  militia  officers  with 
whom  he  was  in  council. 

His  opinion,  probably,  settled  the  question,  and  it  tras  deter- 
mhied  to  seize  on  and  fortify  Bunker's  Hill  and  Dorchester 
Heights.  In  deference,  however,  to  the  suggestions  of  the  more 
cautious,  it  was  agreed  to  postpone  the  measure  until  they  were 
sufficiently  supplied  with  the  miunitions  of  war  to  be  able  to 
maintain  the  heights  when  seized. 

Secret  intelligence  hurried  forward  the  project.  General 
Gage,  it  is  said,  intended  to  take  possession  of  Dorchester 
Heights  on  the  night  of  the  18th  of  June.  These  heights  lay 
on  the  opposite  side  of  Boston,  and  the  committee  were  ignorant 
of  their  localities.  Those  on  Charlestown  Neck,  being  near  at 
hand,  had  some  time  before  been  reconnoitered  by  Colonel 
Richard  Gridley,  and  other  of  the  engineers.  It  was  determined 
to  seize  and  fortify  these  heights  on  the  night  of  Friday,  the 
16th  of  June,  in  anticipation  of  the  movement  of  General  Gage. 
Troops  were  drafted  for  the  purpose  from  the  Massachusetts 
regiments  of  Colonels  Prescott,  Frye,  and  Bridges.  There  was 
also  a  fatigue  party  of  about  two  hundred  men  from  Putnam's 


282  LIFE  OF  WASRINGTON.' 

Connecticut  troops,  led  by  his  favorite  officer,  Captain  Knowl- 
ton,  together  with  a  company  of  forty-nine  artillery  men,  with 
two  field  pieces,  commanded  by  Captain  Samuel  Cridley. 

A  little  before  sunset  the  troops,  about  twelve  hundred  in 
all,  assembled  on  the  common,  in  front  of  G-eneral  Ward's 
quarters.  They  cam^  provided  with  packs,  blankets,  and  pro- 
visions for  four-and-twenty  hours,  but  ignorant  of  the  object  of 
the  expedition.  Being  all  paraded,  prayers  were  offered  up  by 
the  reverend  President  Langdon  of  Harvard  College,  after 
which  they  all  set  forward  on  their  silent  march. 

Colonel  Prescott,  from  his  experience  in  military  matters, 
and  his  being  an  officer  in  the  Massachusetts  line,  had  been 
chosen  by  General  Ward  to  conduct  the  enterprise.  His 
written  orders  were  to  fortify  Bunker's  Hill,  and  defend  the 
works  until  he  should  be  relieved.  Colonel  Bichard  Gridley, 
the  chief  engineer,  who  had  likewise  served  in  the  French  war, 
was  to  acconrpany  him  and  plan  the  fortifications.  It  was  un- 
derstood that  reinforcements  and  refreshments  would  be  sent  to 
the  fatigue  party  in  the  morning. 

The  detachment  left  Cambridge  about  nine  o'clock.  Colonel 
Prescott  taking  the  lead,  preceded  by  two  sergeants  with  dark 
lanterns.  At  Charlestown  Neck  they  were  joined  by  Major 
Brooks,  of  Bridges'  regiment,  and  General  Putnam  ;  and  here 
were  the  wagons  laden  with  intrenching  tools,  which  first  gave 
the  men  an  indication  of  the  enterprise. 

Charlestown  Neck  is  a  narrow  isthmus,  connecting  the 
peninsula  with  the  main  land  ;  having  the  Mystic  E-iver,  about 
half  a  mile  wide,  on  the  north,  and  a  large  embayment  of 
Charles  Biver  on  the  south  or  right  side. 

It  was  now  necessary  to  proceed  with  the  utmost  caution,  for 
they  were  coming  on  ground  over  which  the  British  kept 
jealous  watch.  They  had  erected  a  battery  at  Boston  on  Copp's 
Hill,  immediately  opposite  to  Charlestown.  Pive  of  their 
vessels  of  war  were  stationed  so  as  to  bear  upon  the  peninsula 
from  different  directions,  and  the  guns  of  one  of  them  swept 
the  isthmus,  or  narrow  neck  just  mentioned. 

Across  this  isthmus  Colonel  Prescott  conducted  the  detach- 
ment undiscovered,  and  uj)  the  ascent  of  Bunker's  Hill.  This 
commences  at  the  Neck  and  slopes  up  for  about  three  hundred 
yards  to  its  summit,  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  twelve 
feet  high.  It  then  declines  toward  the  south,  and  is  connected 
by  a  ridge  with  Breed's  Hill  about  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high. 
The  crests  of  the  two  hills  are  about  seven  hundred  yards  apart. 

On  attaining  the  heights,  a  question  rose  which  of  the  two 
they  should  proceed  to  fortify.     Bunker's  Hill  was  specified  in 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  283 

the  written  orders  given  to  Colonel  Prescott  by  General  Ward 
but  Breed's  Hill  was  much  nearer  to  Boston,  and  had  a  better  com- 
mand of  the  town  and  shipping.  Bunker's  Hill,  also,  being  on 
the  upper  and  narrower  part  of  the  peninsula,  was  itself  com- 
manded by  the  same  ship  which  raked  the  Neck.  Putnam  was 
clear  for  commencing  the  principal  work  there,  while  a  minor 
work  might  be  thrown  up  at  Bunker's  Hill,  as  a  protection  in 
the  rear,  and  a  rallying  point,  in  case  of  being  driven  out  of 
the  main  work.  Others  concurred  with  this  opinion,  yet  there 
was  a  hesitation  in  deviating  from  the  letter  of  their  orders.  At 
length  Colonel  Gridley  became  impatient ;  the  night  was  wan- 
ing ;  delay  might  prostrate  the  whole  enterprise.  Breed's  Hill 
was  then  determined  on.  Gridley  marked  out  the  lines  for 
the  fortifications  ;  the  men  stacked  their  guns ;  threw  off  their 
packs  ;  seized  their  trenching  tools,  and  set  to  work  with  great 
spirit ;  but  so  much  time  had  been  wasted  in  discussion,  that  it 
was  midnight  before  they  struck  the  first  spade  into  the 
ground. 

Prescott,  who  felt  the  responsibility  of  his  charge,  almost 
despaired  of  carrying  on  these  operations  undiscovered.  A 
party  was  sent  out  by  him  silently  to  patrol  the  shore  at  the 
foot  of  the  heights,  and  watch  for  any  movement  of  the  enemy. 
Not  willing  to  trust  entirely  to  the  vigilance  of  others,  he  twice 
went  down  during  the  night  to  the  water's  edge — reconnoiter- 
ing  everything  scrupulously,  and  noting  every  sight  and  sound. 
It  was  a  warm,  still,  summer's  night ;  the  stars  shone  brightly, 
but  everything  was  quiet.  Boston  was  buried  in  sleep.  The 
sentry's  cry  of  "  All's  well ''  could  be  heard  distinctly  from  its 
shores,  together  with  the  drowsy  calling  of  the  watch  on  board 
of  the  ships  of  war,  and  then  all  would  relapse  into  silence. 
Satisfied  that  the  enemy  were  perfectly  unconscious  of  what 
was  going  on  upon  the  hill,  he  returned  to  the  works,  and  a 
little  before  daybreak  called  in  the  patrolling  party. 

So  spiritedly,  though  silently,  had  the  labor  been  carried  on, 
that  by  morning  a  strong  redoubt  was  thrown  up  as  a  main 
work,  flanked  on  the  left  by  a  breastwork,  partly  cannon-proof, 
extending  down  the  crest  of  Breed's  Hill  to  a  piece  of  marshy 
ground  called  the  Slough.  To  support  the  right  of  the  redoubt, 
some  troops  were  thrown  into  the  village  of  Charlestown,  at  the 
southern  foot  of  the  hill.  The  great  object  of  Prescott's  solic- 
itude was  now  attained,  a  sufficient  bulwark  to  screen  his  men 
before  they  should  be  discovered  ;  for  he  doubted  the  possibility 
of  keeping  raw  recruits  to  their  post,  if  openly  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  artillery,  and  the  attack  of  disciplined  troops. 

At  dawn  of  day^  the  Americans  at  work  were  espied  by  the 


284  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

sailors  on  board  of  the  ships  of  war,  and  the  alarm  was  given. 
The  captain  of  the  Lively,  the  nearest  ship,  without  waiting 
for  orders,  put  a  spring  upon  her  cable,  and  bringing  her  guns 
to  bear,  opened  a  fire  upon  the  hill.  The  other  ships  and  a 
floating  battery  followed  his  example.  Their  shot  did  no  mis- 
chief to  the  works,  but  one  man,  among  a  number  who  had  in- 
cautiously ventured  outside,  was  killed.  A  subaltern  reported 
his  death  to  Colonel  Prescott,  and  asked  what  was  to  be  done. 
"  Bury  him,"  was  the  reply.  The  chaplain  gathered  some  of 
his  military  flock  around  him,  and  was  proceeding  to  perform 
suitable  obsequies  over  the  "  first  martyr,"  but  Prescott  ordered 
that  the  men  should  disperse  to  their  work,  and  the  deceased  be 
buried  immediately.  It  seemed  shocking  to  men  accustomed 
to  the  funeral  solemnities  of  peaceful  life  to  bury  a  man  with- 
prayers,  but  Prescott  saw  that  the  sight  of  this  man  suddenly 
shot  down  had  agitated  the  nerves  of  his  comrades,  unaccus- 
tomed to  scenes  of  war.  Some  of  them,  in  fact,  quietly  left  the 
hill,  and  did  not  return  to  it. 

To  inspire  confidence  by  example,  Prescott  now  mounted  the 
parapet,  and  walked  leisurely  about,  inspecting  the  works,-  giv- 
ing directions,  and  talking  cheerfully  with  the  men.  In  a 
little  while  they  got  over  their  dread  of  cannon-balls,  and  some 
even  made  them  a  subject  of  joke,  or  rather  bravado — a  species 
of  sham  courage  occasionally  manifested  by  young  soldiers,  but 
never  by  veterans. 

The  cannonading  roused  the  town  of  Boston.  General  Gage 
could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes  when  he  beheld  on  the  opposite 
hill  a  fortification  full  of  men,  which  had  sprung  up  in  the 
course  of  the  night.  As  he  reconnoitered  it  through  a  glass 
from  Copp's  Hill,  the  tall  figure  of  Prescott,  in  military  garb, 
walking  the  parapet,  caught  his  eye.  "  Who  is  that  oflicer  who 
appears  in  command  ?  "  asked  he.  The  question  was  answered 
by  Counselor  Willard,  Prescott's  brother-in-law,  who  was  at 
hand,  and  recognized  his  relative.  "  Will  he  fight  ?  "  demanded 
Gage,  quickly.  "  Yes,  sir  !  "  he  is  an  old  soldier,  and  will  fight 
to  the  last  drop  of  blood ;  but  I  cannot  answer  for  his  men." 

"  The  works  must  be  carried  !  "  exclaimed  Gage. 

He  called  a  council  of  war.  The  Americans  might  intend  to 
cannonade  Boston  from  this  new  fortification ;  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  to  dislodge  them.  How  was  this  to  be  done  ? 
A  majority  of  the  council,  including  Clinton  and  Grant,  advised 
that  a  force  should  be  landed  on  Charlestown  neck,  under  the 
protection  of  their  batteries,  so  as  to  attack  the  Americans  in 
rear,  and  cut  off  their  retreat.  General  Gage  objected  that  it 
^ould  place  his  troops  between  two  armies  j  one  at  Cambridge, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  285 

superior  in  numbers,  the  other  on  the  heights,  strongly  fortified. 
He  was  for  landing  in  front  of  the  works,  and  pushing  directly 
up  the  hill ;  a  plan  adopted  through  a  confidence  that  raw  mil- 
itia would  never  stand  their  ground  against  the  assault  of  vet- 
eran troops — another  instance  of  undervaluing  the  American 
spirit,  which  was  to  cost  the  enemy  a  lamentable  loss  of  life. 


CHAPTER  XLL 


The  sound  of  drum  and  trumpet,  the  clatter  of  hoofs,  the 
rattling  of  gun-carriages,  and  all  the  other  military  din  and 
bustle  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  soon  apprised  the  Americans  on 
their  rudely  fortified  height  of  an  impending  attack.  They 
were  ill-fitted  to  withstand  it,  being  jaded  by  the  night's  labor, 
and  want  of  sleep ;  hungry  and  thirsty,  having  brought  but 
scanty  supplies,  and  oppressed  by  the  heat  of  the  weather. 
Prescott  sent  repeated  messages  to  General  Ward,  asking  re- 
inforcements and  provisions.  Putnam  seconded  the  request  in 
person,  urging  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  Ward  hesitated. 
He  feared  to  weaken  his  main  body  at  Cambridge,  as  his  mili- 
tary stores  were  deposited  there,  and  it  might  have  to  sustain 
the  principal  attack.  At  length,  having  taken  advice  of  the 
council  of  safety,  he  issued  orders  for  Colonels  Stark  and  Eead, 
then  at  Medford,  to  march  to  the  relief  of  Prescott  with  their 
New  Hampshire  regiments.  The  orders  reached  Medford 
about  11  o'clock.  Ammunition  was  distributed  in  all  haste  ; 
two  flints,  a  gill  of  powder,  and  fifteen  balls  to  each  man.  The 
balls  had  to  be  suited  to  the  different  calibres  of  the  guns ;  the 
powder  to  be  carried  in  powder-horns,  or  loose  in  the  pocket,  for 
there  were  no  cartridges  prepared.  It  was  the  rude  turn  out  of 
yeomen  soldiery  destitute  of  regular  accoutrements. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  Americans  on  Breed's  Hill  were 
sustaining  the  fire  from  the  ships,  and  from  the  battery  on 
Copp's  Hill,  which  opened  upon  them  about  ten  o'clock.  They 
returned  an  occasional  shot  from  one  corner  of  the  redoubt, 
without  much  harm  to  the  enemy,  and  continued  strengthening 
their  position  until  about  11  o'clock,  when  they  ceased  to  work, 
piled  their  intrenching  tools  in  the  rear,  and  looked  out  anx- 
iously and  impatiently  for  the  anticipated  reinforcements  an4 
supplies, 


286  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

About  this  time  General  Putnam,  who  had  been  to  head- 
quarters, arrived  at  the  redoubt  on  horseback.  Some  words 
passed  between  him  and  Prescott  with  regard  to  the  intrench- 
ing tools,  which  have  been  variously  reported.  The  most  prob- 
able version  is,  that  he  urged  to  have  them  taken  from  their 
present  place,  where  they  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  and  carried  to  Bunker's  Hill,  to  be  employed  in  throw- 
ing up  a  redoubt,  which  was  part  of  the  original  plan,  and 
which  would  be  very  important  should  the  troops  be  obliged 
to  retreat  from  Breed's  Hill.  To  this  Prescott  demurred  that 
those  employed  to  convey  them,  and  who  were  already  jaded 
with  toil,  might  not  return  to  his  redoubt.  A  large  part  of  the 
tools  were  ultimately  carried  to  Bunker's  Hill,  and  a  breast- 
work commenced  by  order  of  General  Putnam.  The  impor- 
tance of  such  a  work  was  afterwards  made  apparent. 

About  noon  the  Americans  descried  twenty-eight  barges 
crossing  from  Boston  in  parallel  lines.  They  contained  a  large 
detachment  of  grenadiers,  rangers,  and  light  infantry,  admir- 
ably equipped,  and  commanded  by  Major-general  Howe.  They 
made  a  splendid  and  formidable  appearance  with  their  scarlet 
uniforms,  and  the  sun  flashing  upon  muskets  and  bayonets,  and 
brass  field-pieces.  A  heavy  fire  from  the  ships  and  batteries 
covered  their  advance,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  oppose 
them,  and  they  landed  about  1  o'clock  at  Moulton's  Point  a 
little  to  the  north  of  Breed's  Hill. 

Here  General  Howe  made  a  pause.  On  reconnoitering  the 
works  from  this  point,  the  Americans  appeared  to  be  much 
more  strongly  posted  than  he  had  imagined.  He  descried 
troops  also  hastening  to  their  assistance.  These  were  the  New 
Hampshire  troops,  led  on  by  Stark.  Howe  immediately  sent 
over  to  General  Gage  for  more  forces,  and  a  supply  of  cannon- 
balls  ;  those  brought  by  him  being  found,  through  some  egre- 
gious oversight,  too  large  for  the  ordnance.  While  awaiting 
their  arrival,  refreshments  were  served  out  to  the  troops,  with 
"  grog  "  by  the  bucketful ;  and  tantalizing  it  was,  to  the  hungry 
and  thirsty  provincials,  to  look  down  from  their  ramparts  of 
earth,  and  see  their  invaders  seated  in  groups  upon  the  grass 
eating  and  drinking,  and  preparing  themselves  by  a  hearty 
meal  for  the  coming  encounter.  Their  only  consolation  was  to 
take  advantage  of  the  delay,  while  the  enemy  were  carousing, 
to  strengthen  their  position.  The  breastwork  on  the  left  of 
the  redoubt  extended  to  what  was  called  the  Slough,  but  be- 
yond this,  the  ridge  of  the  hill,  and  the  slope  toward  Mystic, 
River,  were  undefended,  leaving  a  pass  by  which  the  enemy 
plight  turn  the'leftfl^nk  of  the  position  and  seize  upon  Bunker'^ 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  2ST 

Hiil.  Putnam  ordered  his  cliosen  officer,  Captain  Knowlton, 
to  cover  this  pass  with  the  Connecticut  troops  under  his  com- 
mand. A  novel  kind  of  rampart,  savoring  of  rural  device,  was 
suggested  by  the  rustic  general.  About  six  hundred  feet  in 
the  rear  of  the  redoubt,  and  about  one  hundred  feet  to  the  left 
of  the  breastwork,  was  a  post-and-rail  fence,  set  in  a  low  foot- 
wall  of  stone,  and  extending  down  to  Mystic  E/iver.  The  posts 
and  rails  of  another  fence  were  hastily  pulled  up,  and  set  a 
few  feet  in  behind  this,  and  the  intermediate  space  was  filled 
up  with  new-mown  hay  from  the  adjacent  meadows.  This 
double  fence,  it  will  be  found,  proved  an  important  protection 
to  the  redoubt,  although  there  still  remained  an  unprotected 
interval  of  about  seven  hundred  feet. 

While  Knowlton  and  his  men  were  putting  up  this  fence, 
Putnam  proceeded  with  other  of  his  troops  to  throw  up  the 
work  on  Bunker's  Hill,  despatching  his  son  Captain  Putnam, 
on  horseback,  to  hurry  up  the  remainder  of  his  men  from 
Cambridge.  By  this  time  his  compeer  in  Prench  and  Indian 
warfare,  the  veteran  Stark,  made  his  appearance  with  the  New 
Hampshire  troops,  five  hundred  strong.  He  had  grown  cool 
and  wary  with  age,  and  his  march  from  Medford,  a  distance  of 
five  or  six  miles,  had  been  in  character.  He  led  his  men  at  a 
moderate  pace,  to  bring  them  into  action  fresh  and  vigorous. 
In  crossing  the  Neck,  which  was  enfiladed  by  the  enemy's  ships 
and  batteries.  Captain  Dearborn,  who  was  by  his  side,  suggested 
a  quick  step.  The  veteran  shook  his  head  :  "  One  fresh  man 
in  action  is  worth  ten  tired  ones,"  replied  he,  and  marched 
steadily  on. 

Putman  detained  some  of  Stark's  men  to  aid  in  throwing  up 
the  work  on  Bunker's  Hill,  and  directed  him  to  reinforce 
Knowlton  with  the  rest.  Stark  made  a  short  speech  to  his  men, 
now  that  they  were  likely  to  have  warm  work.  He  then  pushed 
on,  and  did  good  service  that  day  at  the  rustic  bulwark. 

About  two  o'clock  Warren  arrived  on  the  heights,  ready  to 
engage  in  their  perilous  defense,  although  he  had  opposed  the 
scheme  of  their  occupation.  He  had  recently  been  elected  a 
major-general,  but  had  not  received  his  commission ;  like  Pom- 
eroy,  he  came  to  serve  in  the  ranks  with  a  musket  on  his  shoulder. 
Putnam  offered  him  the  command  at  the  fence ;  he  declined  it, 
and  merely  asked  where  he  could  be  of  most  service  as  a  volunteer. 
Putman  pointed  to  the  redoubt,  observing  that  there  he  would 
be  under  cover.  "  Don't  think  I  seek  a  place  of  safety,"  replied 
Warren,  quickly ;  "  where  will  the  attack  be  hottest ! "  Putnam 
still  pointed  to  the  redoubt.  "That  is  the  enemy's  object  j  if 
that  can  be  maintained,  the  day  is  ours." 


288  LIFE  OF  WASBINGTOlf. 

Warren  was  cheered  by  the  troops  as  he  entered  the  redouht. 
Colonel  Prescott  tendered  him  the  command.  He  again  declined. 
^- 1  have  come  to  serve  only  as  a  volunteer,  and  shall  he  happy 
to  learn  from  a  soldier  of  your  experience."  Such  were  the 
noble  spirits  assembled  on  these  perilous  heights. 

The  British  now  prepared  for  a  general  assault.  An  easy 
victory  was  anticipated :  the  main  thought  was,  how  to  make  it 
most  effectual.  The  left  wing,  commanded  by  General  Pigot, 
was  to  mount  the  hill  and  force  the  redoubt ;  while  General 
Howe,  with  the  right  wing,  was  to  push  on  between  the  fort 
and  Mystic  E-iver,  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  Americans,  and  cut 
off  their  retreat. 

General  Pigot,  accordingly,  advanced  up  the  hill  under  cover 
of  a  fire  from  field-pieces  and  howitzers  planted  on  a  small  height 
near  the  landing-place  on  Moulton's  Point.  His  troops  com- 
menced a  discharge  of  musketry  while  yet  at  a  long  distance 
from  the  redoubts.  The  Americans  within  the  works,  obedient 
to  strict  command,  retained  their  fire  until  the  enemy  were  with- 
in thirty  or  forty  paces,  when  they  opened  upon  them  with  a 
tremendous  volley.  Being  all  marksmen,  accustomed  to  take 
deliberate  aim,  the  slaughter  was  immense,  and  especially  fatal 
to  officers.  The  assailants  fell  back  in  some  confusion ;  but, 
rallied  on  by  their  officers,  advanced  within  pistol  shot.  Another 
volley,  more  effective  than  the  first,  made  them  again  recoil. 
To  add  to  their  confusion,  they  were  galled  by  a  flanking  fire 
from  the  handful  of  provincials  posted  in  Charleston.  Shocked 
at  the  carnage,  and  seeing  the  confusion  of  his  troops.  General 
Pigot  was  urged  to  give  the  word  for  a  retreat. 

In  the  meantime.  General  Howe,  with  the  right  wing,  ad- 
vanced along  Mystic  E-iver  toward  the  fence  where  Stark,  Read, 
and  Knowlton  were  stationed,  thinking  to  carry  this  slight 
breastwork  with  ease,  and  so  get  in  the  rear  of  the  fortress. 
His  artillery  proved  of  little  avail,  being  stopped  by  a  swampy 
piece  of  ground,  while  his  columns  suffered  from  two  or  three 
field-pieces  with  which  Putnam  had  fortified  the  fence.  Howe's 
men  kept  up  a  fire  of  musketry  as  they  advanced ;  but,  not 
taking  aim,  their  shot  passed  over  the  heads  of  the  Americans. 
The  latter  had  received  the  same  orders  with  those  in  the  re- 
doubt, not  to  fire  until  the  enemy  should  be  within  thirty  paces. 
Some  few  transgressed  the  command.  Putnam  rode  up  and 
swore  he  would  cut  down  the  next  man  that  fired  contrary  to 
orders.  When  the  British  arrived  within  the  stated  distance  a 
sheeted  fire  opened  upon  them  from  rifles,  muskets,  and  fowling- 
pieces,  all  leveled  with  deadly  aim.  The  carnage,  as  in  the 
other  instance,  was  horrible.  The  British  were  thrown  into 
confusion  and  fell  back  3  some  even  retreated  to  the  boats. 


LIFE  OM'  WASHINGTON.  ,^9,0 

There  was  a  general  pause  on  the  part  of  the  British.  The 
American  officers  availed  themselves  of  it  to  prepare  for  another 
attack,  which  must  soon  be  made.  Prescott  mingled  among  his 
men  in  the  redoubt,  who  were  all  in  high  spirits  at  the  severe 
check  they  had  given  '■'  the  regulars."  lie  praised  them  for  their 
steadfastness  in  maintaining  their  post,  and  their  good  conduct 
in  reserving  their  fire  until  the  word  of  command,  and  exhorted 
them  to  do  the  same  in  the  next  attack. 

Putnam  rode  about  Bunker's  Hill  and  its  skirts,  to  rally  and 
bring  on  reinforcements  which  had  been  checked  or  scattered 
in  crossing  Charlestown  Neck  by  the  raking  fire  from  the  ships 
and  batteries.  Before  many  could  be  brought  to  the  scene  of 
action  the  British  had  commenced  their  second  attack.  They 
again  ascended  the  hill  to  storm  the  redoubt ;  their  advance 
was  covered  as  before  by  discharges  of  artillery.  Charlestown, 
which  had  annoyed  them  on  their  first  attack  by  a  flanking  fire, 
was  in  flames,  by  shells  thrown  from  Copp's  Hill,  and  by 
marines  from  the  ships.  Being  built  of  wood,  the  place  was 
soon  wrapped  in  a  general  conflagration.  The  thunder  of  artil- 
lery from  batteries  and  ships,  the  bursting  of  bomb-shells,  the 
sharp  discharges  of  musketry  ;  the  shouts  and  yells  of  the  com- 
batants ;  the  crash  of  burning  buildings,  and  the  dense  vol- 
umes of  smoke,  which  obscured  the  summer  sun,  all  formed  a 
tremendous  spectacle.  "  Sure  I  am,"  said  Burgoyne  in  one  of 
his  letters, — "  Sure  I  am  nothing  ever  has  or  ever  can  be  mpre 
dreadfully  terrible  than  what  was  to  be  seen  or  heard  at  this 
time.  The  most  incessant  discharge  of  guns  that  ever  was 
heard  by  mortal  ears." 

The  American  troops,  although  unused  to  war,  stood  undis- 
mayed amidst  a  scene  where  it  was  bursting  upon  them  with  all 
its  horrors.  *  Reserving  their  fire,  as  before,  until  the  enemy  was 
close  at  hand,  they  again  poured  forth  repeated  volleys  with  the 
fatal  aim  of  sharp-shooters.  The  British  stood  the  first  shock, 
and  continued  to  advance  ;  but  the  incessant  stream  of  fire  stag- 
gered them.  Their  officers  remonstrated,  threatened,  and  even 
attempted  to  goad  them  on  with  their  swords,  but  the  havoc 
was  too  deadly ;  whole  ranks  were  mowed  down ;  many  of  the 
officers  were  either  slain  or  wounded,  and  among  them  several 
of  the  staff  of  General  Howe.  The  troops  again  gave  way  and 
retreated  down  the  hill. 

All  this  passed  under  the  eye  of  thousands  of  spectators  of 
both  sexes  and  all  ages,  watching  from  afar  every  turn  of  a 
battle  in  which  the  lives  of  those  most  dear  to  them  were  at 
hazard.  The  British  soldiery  in  Boston  gazed  with  astonish- 
ment and  almost   incredulity  at  the   resolute   and   protracted 


S90  LiFi:  OF  WASHINGTON 

stand  of  raw  militia  whom  they  had  been  taught  to  despise,  and 
at  the  havoc  made  among  their  own  veteran  troops.  Every 
convoy  of  wounded  brought  over  to  the  town  increased  their 
consternation  ;  and  General  Clinton,  who  had  watched  the  action 
from  Gopp's  Hill,  embarking  in  a  boat,  hurried  over  as  a  volun- 
teer, taking  with  him  reinforcements. 

A  third  attack  was  now  determined  on,  though  some  of  Howe's 
officers  remonstrated,  declaring  it  would  be  downright  butchery. 
A  different  plan  was  adopted.-  Instead  of  advancing  in  front 
of  the  redoubt,  it  was  to  be  taken  in  flank  on  the  left,  where 
the  open  space  between  the  breastwork  and  the  fortified  fence 
presented  a  weak  point.  It  having  been  accidentally  discovered 
that  the  ammunition  of  the  Americans  was  nearly  expended, 
preparations  were  made  to  carry  the  works  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet ;  and  the  soldiery  threw  off  their  knapsacks,  and  some 
even  their  coats,  to  be  more  light  for  action. 

General  Howe,  with  the  main  body,  now  made  a  feint  of  at- 
tacking the  fortified  fence  ;  but,  while  a  part  of  his  force  was 
thus  engaged,  the  rest  brought  some  of  the  field-pieces  to  en- 
filade the  breastwork  on  the  left  of  the  redoubt.  A  raking  fire 
soon  drove  the  Americans  out  of  this  exposed  place  into  the  in- 
closure.  Much  damage,  too,  was  done  in  the  latter  by  balls 
which  entered  the  sally-port. 

The  troops  were  now  led  on  to  assail  the  works ;  those  who 
flinched  were,  as  before,  goaded  on  by  the  swords  of  the  officers. 
The  Americans  again  reserved  their  fire  until  their  assailants 
were  close  at  hand,  and  then  made  a  murderous  volley,  by 
which  several  officers  were  laid  low,  and  General  Howe  himself 
was  wounded  in  the  foot.  The  British  soldiery  this  time  like- 
wise reserved  their  fire  and  rushed  on  with  fixed  bayonets. 
Clinton  and  Pigot  had  reached  the  southern  and  eastern  sides 
of  the  redoubt,  and  it  was  now  assailed  on  three  sides  at  once. 
Prescott  ordered  those  who  had  no  bayonets  to  retire  to' the  back 
part  of  the  redoubt  and  fire  on  the  enemy  as  they  showed  them- 
selves above  the  parapet.  The  first  who  mounted  exclaimed  in 
triumph,  "  The  day  is  ours ! "  He  was  instantly  shot  down, 
and  so  were  several  others  who  mounted  at  the  same  time. 
The  Americans,  however,  had  fired  their  last  round,  their  am- 
munition was  exhausted ;  and  now  succeeded  a  desperate  and 
deadly  struggle,  hand  to  hand,  with  bayonets,  stones,  and  the 
stocks  of  their  muskets.  At  length,  as  the  British  continued 
to  pour  in,  Prescott  gave  the  order  to  retreat.  His  men  had  to 
cut  their  way  through  two  divisions  of  the  enemy  who  were  get- 
ting in  rear  of  the  redoubt,  and  they  received  a  destructive 
volley  from  those  who  had  formed  on  the  captured  works.     By 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  291 

that  volley  fell  tlie  patriot  Warren,  who  had  distinguished  him- 
self throughout  the  action.  He  was  among  the  last  to  leave  the 
redoubt,  and  had  scarce  done  so  when  he  was  shot  through  the 
head  with  a  musket-ball,  and  fell  dead  on  the  spot. 

While  the  Americans  were  thus  slowly  dislodged  from  the 
redoubt,  Stark,  Read,  and  Knowlton  maintained  their  ground 
at  the  fortified  fence  ;  which,  indeed,  had  been  nobly  defended 
throughout  the  action.  Pomeroy  distinguished  himself  here 
by  his  sharpshooting  until  his  musket  was  shattered  by  a  ball. 
The  resistance  at  this  hastily  constructed  work  was  kept  up 
after  the  troops  in  the  redoubt  had  given  way,  and  until  Colonel 
Prescott  had  left  the  hill ;  thus  defeating  General  Howe's  design 
of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  the  main  body,  which  would  have 
2)roduced  a  scene  of  direful  confusion  and  slaughter.  Having 
effected  their  purpose,  the  brave  associates  at  the  fence  abandon- 
ed their  weak  outpost,  retiring  slowly,  and  disputing  the  ground 
inch  by  inch,  with  a  regularity  remarkable  in  troops  many  of 
whom  had  never  before  been  in  action. 

The  main  retreat  was  across  Bunker's  Hill,  where  Putnam 
had  endeavored  to  throw  up  a  breastwork.  The  veteran,  sword 
in  hand,  rode  to  the  rear  of  the  retreating  troops,  regardless  of 
the  balls  whistling  about  him.  His  only  thought  was  to  rally 
them  at  the  unfinished  works.  "  Halt  !  make  a  stand  there  !  " 
cried  he,  we  can  check  them  yet.  In  God's  name  form  and  give 
them  one  shot  more." 

Pomeroy,  wielding  his  shattered  musket  as  a  truncheon,  sec- 
onded him  in  his  efforts  to  stay  the  torrent.  It  was  impossible, 
however,  to  bring  the  troops  to  a  stand.  They  continued  on 
down  the  hill  to  the  Neck,  and  across  it  to  Cambridge,  exposed 
to  a  raking  fire  from  the  ships  and  batteries,  and  only  protected 
by  a  single  piece  of  ordnance.  The  British  were  too  exhausted 
to  pursue  them  ;  they  contented  themselves  with  taking  pos- 
session of  Bunker's  Hill,  were  reinforced  from  Boston,  and 
threw  up  additional  works  during  the  night. 

We  have  collected  the  preceding  facts  from  various  sources, 
examining  them  carefully,  and  endeavoring  to  arrange  them 
with  scrupulous  fidelity.  We  may  appear  to  have  been  more 
minute  in  the  account  of  the  battle  than  the  number  of  troops 
engaged  would  warrant ;  but  it  was  one  of  the  most  momentous 
conflicts  in  our  Revolutionary  history.  It  was  the  first  regular 
battle  between  the  British  and  the  Americans,  and  most  event- 
ful in  its  consequences.  The  former  had  gained  the  ground 
for  which  they  contended ;  but,  if  a  victory,  it  was  more  dis- 
astrous and  humiliating  to  them  than  an  ordinary  defeat.  They 
had  ridiculed  and  despised  their  enemy,  representing  them  as 


292  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

dastardly  and  inefficient ;  yet  here  their  best  troops,  led  on  hy 
experienced  officers,  had  repeatedly  been  repulsed,  by  an  in- 
ferior force  of  that  enem}^, — mere  yeomanry, — from  works 
thrown  up  in  a  single  night,  and  had  suffered  a  loss  rarely  par- 
alleled in  battle  with  the  most  veteran  soldiery  ;  for,  according 
to  their  own  returns,  their  killed  and  wounded,  out  of  a  detach- 
ment of  two  thousand  men,  amounted  to  one  thousand  and  fifty 
four,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  officers.  The  loss  of  the 
Americans  did  not  exceed  four  hundred  and  fifty. 

To  the  latter  this  defeat,  if  defeat  it  might  be  called,  had  the 
effect  of  a  triumph.  It  gave  them  confidence  in  themselves 
and  consequence  in  the  eyes  of  their  enemies.  They  had  proved 
to  themselves  and  to  others  that  they  could  measure  weapons 
with  the  disciplined  soldiers  of  Europe,  and  inflict  the  most 
harm  in  the  conflict. 

Among  the  British  officers  slain  was  Major  Pitcairn,  who,  at 
Lexington,  had  shed  the  first  blood  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

In  the  death  of  Warren  the  Americans  had  to  lament  the  loss 
of  a  distinguished  patriot  and  a  most  estimable  man.  It  was 
deplored  as  a  public  calamity.  His  friend  Elbridge  Gerry  had 
endeavored  to  dissuade  him  from  risking  his  life  in  this  perilous 
conflict.  "  Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori,"  replied  War- 
ren, as  if  he  had  foreseen  his  fate — a  fate  to  be  envied  by  those 
ambitious  of  an  honorable  fame.  He  was  one  of  the  first  who 
fell  in  the  glorious  cause  of  his  country,  and  his  name  has  be- 
come consecrated  in  its  history. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  of  the  relative  merits  of  the 
American  officers  engaged  in  this  affair-^a  difficult  question 
where  no  one  appears  to  have  had  the  general  command.  Pres- 
cott  conducted  the  troops  in  the  night  enterprise ;  he  superin- 
tended the  building  of  the  redoubt,  and  defended  it  throughout 
the  battle  :  his  name,  therefore,  will  ever  shine  most  conspicuous, 
and  deservedly  so,  on  this  bright  page  of  our  Kevolutionary  his- 
tory. 

Putnam  was  also  a  leading  spirit  throughout  the  affair ;  one 
of  the  first  to  prompt  and  of  the  last  to  maintain  it.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  been  active  and  efficient  at  every  point ;  sometimes 
fortifying  ;  sometimes  hurrying  up  reinforcements  ;  inspiriting 
the  men  by  his  presence  while  they  were- able  to  maintain  their 
ground,  and  fighting  gallantly  at  the  outpost  to  cover  their  re- 
treat. The  brave  old  man,  riding  about  iii  the  heat  of  the 
action,  on  this  sultry  day,  "with  a  hanger  belted  across  his 
brawny  shoulders,  over  a  waistcoat  without  sleeves,"  has  been 
sneered  at  by  a  contemporary,  as  '^  much  fitter  to  head  a  band 
of  sickle  men  or  ditchers  than  musk'^ceers."     But   this  very 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


293 


description  illustrates  his  character,  and  identifies  him  with  the 
times  and  the  service.  A  yeoman  warrior  fresh  from  the  plough 
in  the  garb  of  rural  labor ;  a  patriot  brave  and  generous,  but 
rough  and  ready,  who  thought  not  of  himself  in  time  of  danger, 
but  was  ready  to  serve  in  any  way,  and  to  sacrifice  official  rank 
and  self-glorification  to  the  good  of  the  cause.  He  was  emi- 
nently a  soldier  for  the  occasion.  His  name  has  long  been  a 
favorite  one  with  young  and  old,  one  of  the  talismanic  names  of 
the  Revolution,  the  very  mention  of  which  is  like  the  sound  of 
a  trumpet.  Such  names  are  the  precious  jewels  of  our  history, 
to  be  garnered  up  among  the  treasures  of  the  nation,  and  kept 
immaculate  from  the  tarnishing  breath  of  the  cynic  and  the 
doubter. 

Note. — In  treating  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  and  of  other  occur- 
rences about  Boston  at  this  period  of  the  Eevolution,  we  have  had  re- 
peated occasion  to  consult  the  History  of  the  Siege  of  Boston,  by  Richard 
Frothingham,  Jr.  ;  a  work  abounding  with  facts  as  to  persons  and 
events,  and  full  of  interest  for  the  American  reader. 


CHAPTEE  XLII. 

DEPARTURE    FROM    PHILADELPHIA. ANECDOTES    OF    GENERAL 

SCHUYLER. OF    LEE. TIDINGS    OF-BUNKER's     HILL. MILI- 
TARY COUNCILS. POPULATION  OF  NEW  YORK. THE  JOHNSON 

FAMILY. GOVERNOR     TRYON. ARRIVAL    AT    NEW    YORK. — • 

MILITARY  INSTRUCTIONS    TO    SCHUYLER. ARRIVAL    AT    THE 

CAMP. 


In  a  preceding  chapter  we  left  Washington  preparing  to  de- 

)art  from  Philadelphia  for  the  army  before  Boston.     He  set  out 

m  horseback  on  the   21st  of  June,  having  for  military  com- 

)anions  of  his  journey  Major-Generals  Lee  and  Schuyler,  and 

)eing  accompanied  for  a  distance  by  several  private  friends.     As 

m  escort  he  had  a  "  gentleman  troop "  of  Philadelphia,  com- 

landed  by  Captain  Markoe  ;    the  whole  formed  a  brilliant  cav- 

Icade. 

G-eneral  Schuyler  was  a  man  eminently  calculated  to  sympa- 

lize  with  Washington  in  all  his  patriotic  views  and  feelings, 

id  became  one  of  his  most  faithful  coadjutors.     Sprung  from 

le  of  the  earliest  and  most  respectable  Dutch  families  which 

)lonized  Kew  York,  all  his  interests  and  affections  were  iden- 

ified  with  the  country.     He  had  received  a  good  education ; 

ipplied  himself  at  an  early  age  to  the  exact  sciences,  and  became 


294  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

versed  in  finance,  military  engineering,  and  political  economy. 
He  was  one  of  those  native-born  soldiers  who  had  acquired  ex- 
perience in  that  American  school  of  arms,  the  old  Erench  war. 
When  but  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  commanded  a  company 
of  New  York  levies  under  Sir  William  Johnson,  of  Mohawk 
renown,  which  gave  him  an  early  opportunity  of  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indian  tribes,  their  country  and  their  policy. 
In  1758  he  was  in  Abercrombie's  expedition  against  Ticonderoga, 
accompanying  Lord  Viscount  Howe  as  chief  of  tlic^  commissariat 
department ;  a  post  Avell  qualified  to  give  him  experience  in  the 
business  part  of  war.  When  that  gallant  young  nobleman  fell 
on  the  banks  of  Lake  George,  Schuyler  conveyed  his  corpse 
back  to  Albany  and  attended  to  his  honorable  obsequies.  Since 
the  close  of  the  French  war  he  had  served  his  country  in  various 
civil  stations,  and  been  one  of  the  zealous  and  eloquent  vindica- 
tors of  colonial  rights.  He  was  one  of  the  "  glorious  minority  " 
of  the  New  York  General  Assembly — George  Clinton,  Colonel 
Woodhull,  Colonel  Philip  Livingston  and  others — who,  when 
that  body  was  timid  and  wavering,  battled  nobly  against  British 
influence  and  oppression.  His  last  stand  had  been  recently  as 
a  delegate  to  Congress,  where  he  had  served  with  Washington 
on  the  committee  to  prepare  rules  and  regulations  for  the  army, 
and  where  the  latter  had  witnessed  his  judgment,  activity, 
practical  science,  and  sincere  devotion  to  the  cause. 

Many  things  concurred  to  produce  perfect  harmony  of  opera- 
tion between  these  distinguished  men.  They  were  nearly  of 
the  same  age,  Schuyler  being  one  year  the  youngest.  Both 
were  men  of  agricultural  as  well  as  military  tastes.  Both  were 
men  of  property,  living  at  their  ease  in  little  rural  paradises, — 
Washington  on  the  grove  clad  heights  of  Mount  Vernon,  Schuy- 
ler on  the  pastoral  banks  of  the  upper  Hudson,  where  he  had 
a  noble  estate  at  Saratoga,  inherited  from  an  uncle,  and  the  old 
family  mansion,  near  the  city  of  Albany,  half  hid  among  ances- 
tral trees.  Yet  both  were  exiling  themselves  from  these  happy 
abodes,  and  putting  life  and  fortune  at  hazard  in  the  service  of 
their  country.  _    _ 

Schuyler  and  Lee  had  early  military  recollections  to  draw 
them  together.  Both  had  served  under  Abercrombie  in  the  ex- 
pedition against  Ticonderoga.  There  was  some  part  of  Lee's 
conduct  in  that  expedition  which  both  he  and  Schuyler  might 
deem  it  expedient  at  this  moment  to  forget.  Lee  was  at  that 
time  a  young  captain,  naturally  presumptuous,  and  flushed  with 
the  arrogance  of  military  power.  ,  On  his  march  along  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson,  he  acted  as  if  in  a  conquered  country',  impressing 
horses  and  oxen,  and  seizing  upon  supplies,  without  exhibiting 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  295 

any  proper  warrant.  It  was  enough  for  him  '^  they  were  nec- 
essary for  the  service  of  his  troops."  Should  any  one  question 
his  right,  the  reply  was  a  volley  of  execrations. 

Among  those  who  experienced  this  unsoldierly  treatment 
was  Mrs.  Schuyler,  the  aunt  of  the  general,  a  lady  of  aristocra- 
tical,  station  revered  throughout  her  neighborhood.  Her  cattle 
were  impressed,  herself  insulted.  She  had  her  revenge.  After 
the  unfortunate  affair  at  Ticonderoga,  a  number  of  the  wounded 
were  broiight  down  along  the  Hudson  to  the  Schuyler  mansion. 
Lee  was  among  the  number.  The  high-minded  mistress  of  the 
house  never  alluded  to  his  past  conduct.  He  was  received,  like 
his  brother  officers,  with  the  kindest  sympathy.  Sheets  and 
table-cloths  were  torn  up  to  serve  as  bandages.  Everything 
was  done  to  alleviate  their  sufferings.  Lee's  cynic  heart  was 
conquered.  He  swore  in  his  vehement  manner  that  he  was  sure 
there  would  be  a  place  reserved  for  Mrs.  Schuyler  in  heaven, 
though  no  other  woman  should  be  there,  and  that  he  should 
wish  for  nothing  better  than  to  share  her  final  destiny  !  "  * 

Seventeen  years  had  since  elapsed,  and  Lee  and  the  nephew 
of  Mrs.  Schuyler  were  again  allied  in  military  service,  but  under 
a  different  banner  ;  and  recollections  of  past  times  must  have 
given  peculiar  interest  to  their  present  intercourse.  In  fact, 
the  journe}'  of  Washington  with  his  associate  generals,  experi- 
enced like  him  in  the  wild  expeditions  of  the  old  French  war, 
was  a  revival  of  early  campaigning  feelings. 

The}^  had  scarcely  proceeded  twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia 
when  they  were  met  by  a  courier,  spurring  with  all  speed,  bear- 
ing despatches  from  the  army  to  Congress,  communicating 
tidings  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.  Washington  eagerly  in- 
quired particulars  ;  above  all,  how  acted  the  militia  ?  When 
told  that  they  stood  their  ground  bravely ;  sustained  the  enemy's 
fire  ;  reserved  their  own  until  at  close  quarters,  and  then  de- 
livered it  with  deadly  effect ;  it  seemed  as  if  a  weight  of  doubt 
and  solicitude  were  lifted  from  his  heart.  "  The  liberties  of  the 
country  are  safe  !  "  exclaimed  he. 

The  news  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  had  startled  the 
whole  country ;  and  this  clattering  cavalcade  escorting  the  com- 
mander-in-chief to  the  army,  was  the  gaze  and  wonder  of  every 
town  and  village. 

The  journey  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  continual  council  of 
war  between  Washington  and  the  two  generals.  Even  the  con- 
trast in  character  of  the  two  latter  made  them  regard  questions 
from  different  points  of  view.  Schuyler,  a  warm-hearted  patriot, 
with  everything  staked  on  the  cause ;  Lee,  a  soldier  of  fortune, 
indifferent  to  the  ties  of  home  and  country,  drawing  his  sword 

*  Memoirs  of  an  American  lady  (Mrs.  Grant,  of  Laggan),  Vol.  ii 
chap.  ix. 


296  LIFE  OF  WASMmOTON. 

without  enthusiasm  ;  more  through  resentment  against  a  govern- 
ment which  had  disappointed  him  than  zeal  for  liberty  or  for 
colonial  righjfcs. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  subjects  of  conversation  was  the 
province  of  New  York.  Its  power  and  position  rendered  it  the 
great  link  of  the  confederacy ;  what  measures  were  necessary 
for  its  defense,  and  most  calculated  to  secure  its  adherence  to 
the  cause  ?  A  lingering  attachment  to  the  crown,  kept  up  by 
the  influence  of  British  merchants,  and  military  and  civil 
functionaries  in  royal  pay,  had  rendered  it  slow  in  coming  into 
the  colonial  compact ;  it  was  only  on  the  contemptuous  dismissal 
of  their  statement  of  grievances,  unheard,  that  its  people  had 
thrown  off  their  allegiance,  as  much  in  sorrow  as  in  anger. 

No  person  was  better  fitted  to  give  an  account  of  the  interior 
of  New  York  than  General  Schuyler;  and  the  hawk-eyed  Lee 
during  a  recent  sojourn  had  made  its  capital  somewhat  of  a 
study  ;  but  there  was  much  yet  for  both  of  them  to  learn. 

The  population  of  New  York  was  more  varied  in  its  elements 
than  that  of  almost  any  other  of  the  provinces,  and  had  to  be 
cautiously  studied.  The  New  Yorkers  were  of  a  mixed  origin, 
and  stamped  with  the  peculiarities  of  their  respective  ancestors. 
The  descendants  of  the  old  Dutch  and  Huguenot  families,  the 
earliest  settlers,  were  still  among  the  soundest  and  best  of  the 
population.  They  inherited  the  love  of  liberty,  civil  and  relig- 
ious, of  their  forefathers,  and  were  those  who  stood  foremost  in 
the  present  struggle  for  popular  rights.  Such  were  the  Jays, 
the  Bensons,  the  Beekmans,  the  Hoffmans,  the  Van  Homes, 
the  E-oosevelts,  the  Duyckinks,  the  Pintards,  the  Yateses,  and 
others  whose  names  figure  in  the  patriotic  documents  of  the 
day.  Some  of  them,  doubtless,  cherished  a  remembrance  of  the 
time  when  their  forefathers  were  lords  of  the  land,  and  felt  an 
innate  propensity  to  join  in  resistance  to  the  government  hj 
which  their  supremacy  had  been  overturned.  A.  great  propor- 
tion of  the  more  modern  families,  dating  from  the  downfall  of 
the  Dutch  government  in  1664,  were  English  and  Scotch,  and 
among  these  were  many  loyal  adherents  to  the  crown.  Then 
there  was  a  mixture  of  the  whole,  produced  by  the  intermar- 
riages of  upwards  of  a  century,  which  partook  of  every  shade  of 
character  and  sentiment.  The  operations  of  foreign  commerce 
and  the  regular  communications  with  the  mother  country 
through  packets  and  ships  of  war,  kept  these  elements  in  con- 
stant action,  and  contributed  to  produce  that  mercurial  tempera- 
ment, that  fondness  for  excitement,  and  j)roneness  to  pleasure, 
which  distinguished  them  from  their  neighbors  on  either  side 
• — tlie  austere  Puritans  of  New  England,  and  the  quiet  "Friends" 
of  Pennsylvania. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  297 

There  was  a  power,  too,  of  a  formidable  kind  witliin  tlie  in- 
terior of  the  province,  which  was  an  object  of  much  solicitude. 
This  was  the  "  Johnson  Family."  We  have  repeatedly  had  oc- 
casion to  speak  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  His  Majesty's  general 
agent  for  Indian  affairs  :  of  his  great  wealth,  and  his  almost 
sovereign  sway  over  the  Six  Nations.  He  had  originally  re- 
ceived that  appointment  through  the  influence  of  the  Schuyler 
family.  Both  Generals  Schuyler  and  Lee,  when  young  men, 
had  campaigned  with  him  ;  and  it  was  among  the  Mohawk  war- 
riors, who  rallied  under  his  standard,  that  Lee  had  beheld  his 
vaunted  models  of  good  breeding. 

In  the  recent  difficulties  between  the  crown  and  colonies.  Sir 
William  had  naturally  been  in  favor  of  the  government  which 
had  enriched  and  honored  him,  but  he  had  viewed  with  deep 
concern  the  acts  of  Parliament  which  were  goading  the  colonists 
to  armed  resistance.  In  the  height  of  his  solicitude  he  received 
despatches  ordering  him,  in  case  of  hostilities,  to  enlist  the 
Indians  in  the  cause  of  government.  To  the  agitation  of  feel- 
ings produced  by  these  orders  many  have  attributed  a  stroke  of 
apoplexy,  of  which  he  died,  on  the  11th  of  July,  1774,  about  a 
year  before  the  time  of  which  we  are  treating. 

His  son  and  heir.  Sir  John  Johnson,  and  his  sons-n-lawi, 
Colonel  Guy  Johnson  and  Colonel  Claus,  felt  none  of  the  reluc- 
tance of  Sir  William  to  use  harsh  measures  in  support  of  roy- 
alty. They  lived  in  a  degree  of  rude  feudal  style  in  stone 
mansions  capable  of  defense,  situated  on  the  Mohawk  Kiver 
and  in  its  vicinity ;  they  had  many  Scottish  Highlanders  for 
tenants ;  and  among  their  adherents  were  violent  men,  such  as 
the  Butlers,  of  Tryon  County,  and  Brant,  the  Mohawk  sachem,- 
since  famous  in  Indian  warfare. 

They  had  recently  gone  about  with  armed  retainers,  over- 
awing and  breaking  up  patriotic  assemblages,  and  it  was  known 
they  could  at  any  time  bring  a  force  of  warriors  in  the  field. 

Recent  accounts  stated  that  Sir  John  was  fortifying  the  old 
family  Hall  at  Johnstown  with  swivels,  and  had  a  hundred  and 
fifty  Roman  Catholic  Highlanders  quartered  in  and  about  it, 
all  armed  and  ready  to  obey  his  orders. 

Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  however,  was  the  most  active  and 
zealous  of  the  family.  Pretending  to  apprehend  a  design  on 
the  part  of  the  New  England  people  to  surprise  and  carry  him 
off,  he  fortified  his  stone  mansion  on  the  Mohawk,  called  Guy's 
Park,  and  assembled  there  a  part  of  his  militia  regiment  and 
other  of  his  adherents,  to  the  number  of  five  hundred.  He  held 
a  great  Indian  council  there,  likewise,  in  which  the  chiefs  of 
the  Six  Nations  recalled  the  friendship  and  good  deeds  of  the 


298  LIFE  OF  WASHI^i'GTOX. 

late  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  avowed  their  determination  to 
stand  by  and  defend  every  branch  of  his  family. 

As  yet  it  was  uncertain  whether  Colonel  Guy  really  intended 
to  take  an  open  part  in  the  appeal  to  arms.  Should  he  do  so, 
he  would  carry  with  him  a  great  force  of  the  native  tribes,  and 
might  also  domineer  over  the  frontier. 

Tryon,  the  governor  of  New  York,  was  at  present  absent  in 
England,  having  been  called  home  by  the  ministry  to  give  an 
account  of  the  affairs  of  the  province,  and  to  receive  instruc- 
tions for  its  management.  He  was  a  tory  in  heart,  and  had 
been  a  zealous  opponent  of  all  colonial  movements,  and  his 
talents  and  address  gave  him  great  influence  over  an  important 
part  of  the  community.  Should  he  return  with  hostile  instruc- 
tions, and  should  he  and  the  Johnsons  cooperate,  the  one  con- 
trolling the  bay  and  harbor  of  New  York  and  the  waters  of  the 
Hudson  by  means  of  ships  and  land  forces  ;  the  others  overrun- 
ning the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  and  the  regions  beyond  Albany 
with  savage  hordes,  this  great  central  province  might  be  wrest- 
ed from  the  confederacy,  and  all  intercourse  broken  off  between 
the  eastern  and  southern  colonies. 

All  these  circumstances  and  considerations,  many  of  which 
came  under  discussion  in  the  course  of  this  military  journey, 
rendered  the  command  of  New  York  a  post  of  especial  trust 
and  importance,  and  determined  Washington  to  confide  it  to 
General  Schuyler.  He  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  it  by  his  mili- 
tary talents,  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  province  and  its  con- 
cerns, especially  what  related  to  the  upper  parts  of  it,  and  his 
experience  in  Indian  affairs. 

At  Newark,  in  the  Jerseys,  Washington  was  met  on  the 
25th  by  a  committee  of  the  provincial  Congress,  sent  to  con- 
duct him  to  the  city.  The  Congress  was  in  a  perplexity.  It 
had  in  a  manner  usurped  and  exercised  the  powers  of  Governor 
Tryon  during  his  absence,  while  at  the  same  time  it  professed 
allegiance  to  the  crown  which  had  appointed  him.  He  was 
now  in  the  harbor,  just  arrived  from  England,  and  hourly  ex- 
pected to  land.  Washington,  too,  was  approaching.  How  were 
these  double  claims  to  ceremonious  respect,  happening  at  the 
same  time,  to  be  managed  ? 

In  this  dilemma  a  regiment  of  militia  was  turned  out,  an< 
the  colonel  instructed  to  pay  military  honors  to  M^hichever  oi 
the  distinguished  functionaries  should  first  arrive.  WashingJ 
ton  was  earlier  than  the  governor  by  several  hours,  and  receivec 
those  honors.  Peter  Van  Burgh  Livingston,  president  of  the 
New  York  Congress,  next  delivered  a  congratulatory  address^ 
the  latter  part  of  which   evinces   the   cautious  reserve   witi 


LIFE  OF  WASBtNGTCN.  209 

I 

wliicli,  in  those  revolutionary  times,  military  power  was  in- 
trusted to  an  individual : — 

''  Confiding  in  yon,  sir,  and  in  the  worthy  generals  immedi- 
ately under  your  command,  we  have  the  most  flattering  hopes 
of  success  in  the  glorious  struggle  for  American  liberty,  and 
the  fullest  assurances  that  wlvenever  this  important  contest 
shall  be  decided  by  that  fondest  wish  of  each  American  soul, 
an  accommodation  icith  our  mother  country,  you  will  cheer- 
fidly  resign  the  important  deposit  committed  into  your  hands, 
and  reassume  the  character  of  our  worthiest  citizenP 

The  following  was  Washington's  reply,  in  behalf  of  himself 
and  his  generals,  to  this  part  of  the  address : — 

"  As  to  the  fatal,  but  necessary  operations  of  war,  when  we 
assumed  the  soldier,  we  did  not  lay  aside  the  citizen ;  and  we 
shall  most  sincerely  rejoice  with  you  in  that  happy  hour,  when 
the  establishment  of  American  liberty,  on  the  most  firm  and 
solid  foundations,  shall  enable  us  to  return  to  our  private 
stations,  in  the  bosom  of  a  free,  peaceful,  and  happy  coun- 
try." 

The  landing  of  Governor  Tryon  took  place  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  The  military  honors  were  repeated ;  he  was 
received  with  great  respect  by  the  mayor  and  common  council, 
and  transports  of  loyalty  by  those  devoted  to  the  crown.  It 
was  unknown  what  instructions  he  had  received  from  the 
ministry,  but  it  was  rumored  that  a  large  force  would  soon 
arrive  from  England,  subject  to  his  directions.  At  this  very 
moment  a  ship  of  war,  the  Asia,  lay  anchored  opposite  the 
city ;  its  grim  batteries  bearing  upon  it,  greatly  to  the  disquiet 
of  the  faint-hearted  among  its  inhabitants. 

In  this  situation  of  affairs  Washington  was  happy  to  leave 
such  an  efficient  j)erson  as  General  Schuyler  in  command  of  the 
place.  According  to  his  instructions,  the  latter  was  to  make 
returns  once  a  month,  and  oftener,  should  circumstances  require 
it,  to  Washington,  as  commander-in-chief,  and  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  of  the  forces  under  him,  and  the  state  of  his  supplies  ; 
and  to  send  the  earliest  advices  of  all  events  of  importance. 
He  was  to  keep  a  wary  eye  on  Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  and  to 
counteract  any  prejudicial  influence  he  might  exercise  over  the 
Indians.  With  respect  to  Governor  Tryon,  Washington  hinted 
at  a  bold  and  decided  line  of  conduct.  "  If  forcible  measures 
are  judged  necessary  respecting  the  person  of  the  governor,  I 
should  have  no  difficulty  in  ordering  them,  if  the  Continental 
Congress  were  not  sitting ;  but  as  that  is  the  case,  and  the  seiz- 
^^9  ^f  ^  governor  quite  a_)iew_thing,J^_mus,t^eieT you  to  that 
body  for  direction.J^ 


300  LIFE  OF  WASBIJSTGTOX. 

Had  Congress  thought  proper  to  direct  sucn  a  measiu\', 
Schuyler  certainly  would  have  been  the  man  to  execute  it. 

At  New  York,  Washington  had  learned  all  the  details^of 
the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill ;  they  quickened  his  impatience  to 
arrive  at  the  camp.  He  departed,  therefore,  on  the  26th,  ac- 
companied by  General  Lee,  and  escorted  as  far  as  Kingsbridge," 
the  termination  of  ]N"ew  York  Island,  by  Markoe's  Philadelphia 
light  horse,  and  several  companies  of  militia. 

In  the  meantime  the  provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts, 
then  in  session  at  Watertown,  had  made  arrangements  for  the 
expected  arrival  of  Washington.  According  to  a  resolve  of  that 
body,  "  the  president's  house  in  Cambridge,  excepting  one  room 
reserved  by  the  president  for  his  own  use,  was  to  be  taken," 
cleared,  prepared,  and  furnished  for  the  reception  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief and  General  Lee.  The  Congress  had  likewise 
sent  on  a  deputation  which  met  Washington  at  Springfield,  on 
the  frontiers  of  the  province,  and  provided  escorts  and  accom- 
modations for  him  along  the  road.  Thus  honorably  attended 
from  town  to  town,  and  escorted  by  volunteer  companies  and 
cavalcades  of  gentlemen,  he  arrived  at  Watertown  on  the  2d  of 
July,  where  he  was  greeted  by  Congress  with  a  congratulatory, 
address,  in  which,  however,  was  frankly  stated  the  undisciplined 
state  of  the  army  he  was  summoned  to  command.  An  address 
of  cordial  welcome  was  likewise  made  tt)  General  Lee. 

The  ceremony  over,  Washington  was  again  in  the  saddle, 
and,  escorted  by  a  troop  of  light  horse  and  a  cavalcade  of 
citizens,  proceeded  to  the  head-quarters  provided  for  him  at 
Cambridge,  three  miles  distant.  As  he  entered  the  confines  of 
the  camp  the  shouts  of  the  multitude  and  the  thundering  of 
artillery  gave  note  to  the  enemy  beleaguered  in  Boston  of  his 
arrival. 

His  military  reputation  had  preceded  him  and  excited  great 
expectations.  They  were  not  disappointed.  His  personal  ap- 
pearance, notwithstanding  the  dust  of  travel,  was  calculated  to 
captivate  the  public  eye.  As  he  rode  through  the  camp,  amidst 
a  throng  of  officers,  he  was  the  admiration  of  the  soldiery  and 
of  a  curious  throng  collected  from  the  surrounding  country. 
Happy  was  the  countryman  who  could  get  a  full  view  of  him 
to  carry  home  an  account  of  it  to  his  neighbors.  "  I  have  been 
much  gratified  this  day  with  a  view  of  General  Washington," 
writes  a  contemporary  chronicler.  "  His  excellency  was  ,on 
horseback,  in  company  with  several  military  gentlemen.^ It 
was  not  difficult  to  distinguish  him  from  all  others.  He  is  tall 
and  well-proportioned,  and  his  personal  appearance^truly  ^noble 
and  majesUc."  *  -i 

♦.Thatcher.    Military' Journal]^  I 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  301 

The  fair  sex  were  still  more  enthusiastic  in  their  admiration, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  following  passage  of  a  letter  written 
by  the  intelligent  and  accomplished  wife  of  John  Adams  to  her 
husband :  "  Dignity,  ease,  and  complacency,  the  gentleman  and 
the  soldier,  look  agreeably  blended  in  hun.  Modesty  marks 
every  line  and  feature  of  his  face.  Those  lines  of  Dryden  in- 
stantly occurred  to  me : 

'' '  Mark  his  majestic  fabric !    He's  a  temple 
Sacred  by  birth,  and  built  by  hands  divine; 
His  soul's  the  deity  that  lodges  there; 
Nor  is  the  pile  unworthy  of  the  god.** 

With  Washington,  modest  at  all  times,  there  was  no  false  ex- 
citement on  the  present  occasion  ;  nothing  to  call  forth  emotions 
of  self-glorification.  The  honors  and  congratulations  with 
which  he  was  received,  the  acclamations  of  the  public,  the  cheer- 
ings  of  the  army,  only  told  him  how  much  was  expected  from 
him  ;  and  when  he  looked  round  upon  the  raw  and  rustic  levies 
he  was  to  command,  "  a  mixed  multitude  of  people,  under  very 
little  discipline,  order,  or  government,"  scattered  in  rough  en- 
campments about  hill  and  dale,  beleaguering  a  city  garrisoned 
by  veteran  troops,  with  ships  of  war  anchored  about  its  harbor, 
and  strong  outposts  guarding  it,  he  felt  the  awful  responsibility 
of  his  situation,  and  the  complicated  and  stupendous  task  be- 
fore him.  He  spoke  of  it,  however,  not  despondingly  nor 
boastfully  and  with  defiance ;  but  with  that  solemn  and  sedate 
resolution,  and  that  hopeful  reliance  on  Supreme  Groodness,  which 
belonged  to  his  magnanimous  nature.  The  cause  of  his  coun- 
try, he  observed,  had  called  him  to  an  active  and  dangerous 
duty,  but  he  trusted  that  Divine  Providence,  which  wisely 
orders  the,  affairs  of  men,  wotdd  enable  him  to  discharge  it 
with  fidelity  and  success^ 

*  Letter  to  Governor  TrumbuU.    Sparks,  ilL  31. 


302  LIJF£  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

WASHINGTON    TAKES    COMMAND    OF    THE    ARMIES. SKETCH   OP 

GENERAL  LEE. CHARACTERS  OF  THE  BRITISH  COMMANDERS, 

HOWE,    CLINTON    AND    BURGOYNE. SURVEY    OF    THE    CAMPS 

FROM  PROSPECT  HILL. THE   CAMPS    CONTRASTED. DESCRIP- 
TION OF  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  ARMY. RHODE  ISLAND  TROOPS. 

CHARACTER   OF   GENERAL   GREENE. WASHINGTON   REPRE- 
SENTS    THE     DEFICIENCIES     OF     THE     ARMY. HIS     APOLOGY 

FOR  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  TROOPS. GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL. 

CRAGIE  HOUSE,  WASHINGTON'S  HEADQUARTERS. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  the  morning  after  his  arrival  at  Cambridge, 
Washington  took  formal  command  of  the  army.  It  was  drawn 
up  on  the  common  about  half  a  mile  from  headquarters.  A' mul- 
titude had  assembled  there,  for  as  yet  military  spectacles  were 
novelties,  and  the  camp  was  full  of  visitors,  men,  women,  and 
children,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  who  had  relatives  among 
tre  yeoman  soldiery. 

An  ancient  elm  is  still  pointed  out,  under  which  Washington, 
r  ;  .e  arrived  from  headquarters  accompanied  by  General  Lee 
iind  a  numerous  suite,  wheeled  his  horse,  and  drew  his  sword  as 
<iommander-in-cliief  of  the  armies.  We  have  cited  the  poetical 
description  of  him  furnished  by  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Adams ;  we 
give  her  sketch  of  his  military  compeer — less  poetical,  but  no 
less  graphic. 

"  General  Lee  looks  like  a  careless,  hardy  veteran ;  and  by 
^^'3  appearance  brought  to  my  mind  his  namesake,  Charles  XII. 
>i  Sweden.  The  elegance  of  his  pen  far  exceeds  that  of  his 
person."  * 


Accompanied  by  this  veteran  campaigner,  on  whose  military 
judgment  he  had  great  reliance,  Washington  visited  the  differ- 
ent American  posts,  and  rode  to  the  heights,  commanding  views 
over  Boston  ibiid  its  environs,  being  anxious  to  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  strength  and  relative  position  of  both 
armies :  and  here  we  will  give  a  few  particulars  concerning  the 
distinguished  commanders  with  whom  he  was  brought  imme- 
diately in  competition. 

Congress,  speaking  of  them  reproachfully,  observed,  "  Three 
of  England's  most  experienced  generals  are  sent  to  wage  war 
*  Mrs.  Adams  to  John  Adams,  1775. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  303 

with  tlieir  fellow-subjects."  The  first  hero  alluded  to  was  the 
Honorable  William  Howe,  next  in  command  to  Gage.  He  was 
a  man  of  fine  presence,  six  feet  high,  well  proportioned,  and  of 
graceful  deportment.  He  is  said  to  have  been  not  unlike  Wash- 
ington in  appearance,  though  wanting  his  energy  and  activity. 
He  lacked  also  his  air  of  authority ;  but  affability  of  manners 
and  a  generous  disposition  made  him  popular  with  both  officers 
and  soldiers. 

There  was  a  sentiment  in  his  favor  even  among  Americans  at 
the  time  when  he  arrived  at  Boston.  It  was  remembered  that 
he  was  brother  to  the  gallant  and  generous  youth,  Lord  Howe, 
who  fell  in  the  flower  of  his  days  on  the  banks  of  Lake  George, 
and  whose  untimely  death  had  been  lamented  throughout  the 
colonies.  It  was  remembered  that  the  general  himself  had  won 
reputation  in  the  same  campaign,  commanding  the  light  infantry 
under  Wolfe  on  the  famous  Plains  of  Abraham.  A  mournful 
feeling  had  therefore  gone  through  the  country,  when  General 
Howe  was  cited  as  one  of  the  British  commanders  who  had 
most  distinguished  themselves  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Bunker's 
Hill.  Congress  spoke  of  it  with  generous  sensibility  in  their 
address  to  the  people  of  Ireland  already  quoted.  "  America  is 
amazed,"  said  they,  "  to  find  the  name  of  Howe  on  the  catalogue 
of  her  enemies — she  loved  his  brother  !  " 

General  Henry  Clinton,  the  next  in  command,  was  grandson 
of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  and  son  of  George  Clinton,  who  had 
been  governor  of  the  province  of  New  York  for  ten  years,  from 
1743.  The  general  had  seen  service  on  the  Continent  in  the 
Seven  Years'  War.  He  was  of  short  stature,  and  inclined  to 
corpulency,  with  a  full  face  and  prominent  nose.  His  manners 
were  reserved,  and  altogether  he  was  in  strong  contrast  with 
Howe,  and  by  no  means  so  popular. 

Burgoyne,  the  other  British  general  of  note,  was  natural  son 
of  Lord  Bingley,  and  had  entered  the  army  at  an  early  age.  While 
yet  a  subaltern  he  had  made  a  runaway  match  with  a  daughter 
of  the  Earl  of  Derby,  who  threatened  never  to  admit  the  offend- 
ers to  his  presence.  In  1758  Burgoyne  was  a  lieutenant-colonel 
of  light  dragoons.  In  1761  he  was  sent  with  a  force  to  aid  the 
Portuguese  against  the  Spaniards,  joined  the  army  commanded 
by  the  Count  de  la  Lippe,  and  signalized  himself  by  surprising 
and  capturing  the  town  of  Alcantara.  He  had  since  been  elected 
to  Parliament  for  the  borough  of  Middlesex,  and  displayed  con- 
siderable parliamentary  talents.  In  1772  he  was  made  a  major- 
general.  His  taste,  wit,  and  intelligence,  and  his  aptness  at 
devising  and  promoting  elegant  amusements,  made  him  for  a 
time  a  leader  in  the  gay  world,  though  Junixis  accuses  hin\  of 


304  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

■unfair  practices  at  the  gaming  table.  His  reputation  for  talents 
and  services  had  gradually  mollified  the  heart  of  his  father-in- 
law,  the  Earl  of  Derby.  In  1774  he  gave  celebrity  to  the  mar- 
riage of  a  son  of  the  Earl  with  Lady  Betty  Hamilton,  by  pro- 
ducing an  elegant  dramatic  trifle,  entitled,  "  The  Maid  of  the 
Oaks,"  afterwards  performed  at  Drury  Lane,  and  honored  with 
a  biting  sarcasm  by  Horace  Walpole.  "  There  is  a  new  puppet 
show  at  Drury  Lane,"  writes  the  wit,  "  as  fine  as  the  scenes  can 
make  it,  and  as  dull  as  the  author  could  not  help  making  it."  * 

It  is  but  justice  to  Burgoyne's  memory  to  add,  that  in  after 
years  he  produced  a  dramatic  work,  "  The  Heiress,"  which  ex- 
torted even  Walpole's  approbation,  who  pronounced  it  the 
genteelest  comedy  in  the  English  language. 

Such  were  the  three  British  commanders  at  Boston,  who 
were  considered  especially  formidable ;  and  they  had  with  them 
eleven  thousand  veteran  troops,  well  appointed  and  well  dis- 
ciplined. 

In  visiting  the  different  posts,  Washington  halted  for  a  time 
at  Prospect  Hill,  which,  as  its  name  denotes,  commanded  a 
wide  view  over  Boston  and  the  surrounding  country.  Here 
Putnam  had  taken  his  position  after  the  battle  of  Bunker's 
Hill,  fortifying  himself  with  works  which  he  deemed  impreg- 
nable ;  and  here  the  veteran  was  enabled  to  point  out  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  to  Lee,  the  main  features  of  the  bel- 
ligerent region,  which  lay  spread  out  like  a  map  before  them. 

Bunker's  Hill  was  but  a  mile  distant  to  the  east,  the  Britisli 
standard  floating  as  if  in  triumph  on  its  summit.  The  main 
force  under  General  Howe  was  intrenching  itself  strongly  about 
half  a  mile  beyond  the  place  of  the  recent  battle.  Scarlet  uni- 
forms gleamed  about  the  hill ;  tents  and  marquees  whitened 
its  sides.  All  up  there  was  bright,  brilliant,  and  triumphant. 
At  the  base  of  the  hill  lay  Charleston  in  ashes,  "nothing  to  be 
seen  of  that  fine  town  but  chimneys  and  rubbish. 

Howe's  sentries  extended  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  beyond 
the  neck  or  isthmus,  over  which  the  Americans  retreated  after 
the  battle.  Three  floating  batteries  in  Mystic  River  command- 
ed this  isthmus,  and  a  twenty-gun  ship  was  anchored  betwccMi 
the  peninsula  and  Boston. 

General  Gage,  the  commander-in-chief,  still  had  his  liead- 
quarters  in  the  town,  but  there  were  few  troops  there  besides 
Burgoyne's  light  horse.  A  large  force,  however,  was  intrench- 
ed south  of  the  town  on  the  neck  leading  to  Roxbury, — tlu; 
only  entrance  to  Boston  by  land. 

The  American  troops  were  irregularly  distributed  in  a  kind 
*  Walpole  to  the  Hon.  W,  S,  Conway. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  305 

of  semicircle  eight  or  nine  miles  in  extent ;  the  left  resting  on 
Winter  Hill,  the  most  northern  post;  the  right  extending  on 
the  south  to  Roxbury  and  Dorchester  Neck. 

Washington  reconnoitered  the  British  posts  from  various 
points  of  view.  Everything  about  them  was  in  admirable 
order.  The  works  appeared  to  be  constructed  with  military 
science,  the  troops  to  be  in  a  high  state  of  discipline.  The 
American  camp,  on  the  contrary,  disappointed  him.  He  had 
expected  to  find  eighteen  or  twenty  thousand  men  under  arms  ; 
there  were  not  much  more  than  fourteen  thousand.  He  had 
expected  to  find  some  degree  of  system  and  discipline ;  whereas 
all  were  raw  militia.  He  had  expected  to  find  works  scientifi- 
cally constructed,  and  proofs  of  knowledge  and  skill  in  engi- 
neering :  whereas,  what  he  saw  of  the  latter  was  very  imper- 
fect, and  confined  to  the  mere  manual  exercise  of  cannon. 
There  was  abundant  evidence  of  aptness  at  trenching  and 
throwing  up  rough  defenses ;  and  in  that  way  General  Thomas 
had  fortified  Roxbury  Neck,  and  Putnam  had  strengthened 
Prospect  Hill.  But  the  semicircular  line  which  linked  the 
extreme  posts,  was  formed  of  rudely-constructed  works,  far  too 
extensive  for  the  troops  which  were  at  hand  to  man  them. 

Within  this  attenuated  semicircle,  the  British  forces  lay 
concentrated  and  compact ;  and  having  command  of  the  water, 
might  suddenly  bring  their  main  strength  to  bear  UDon  some 
weak  point,  force  it,  and  sever  the  American  camp. 

In  fact,  when  we  consider  the  scanty,  ill-conditioned,  and 
irregular  force  which  had  thus  stretched  itself  out  to  beleaguer 
a  town  and  harbor  defended  by  ships  and  floating  batteries,  and 
garrisoned  by  eleven  thousand  strongly  posted  veterans,  we  are 
at  a  loss  whether  to  attribute  its  hazardous  position  to  ignorance, 
or  to  that  daring  self-confidence,  which  at  times,  in  our  military 
history,  has  snatched  success  in  defiance  of  scientific  rules.  It 
was  revenge  for  the  slaughter  at  Lexington,  which,  we  are 
told,  first  prompted  the  investment  of  Boston.  "  The  universal 
voice,"  says  a  contemporary,  "is,  starve  them  out.  Drive  them 
from  the  town,  and  let  His  Majesty's  ships  be  their  only  place 
of  refuge." 

In  riding  throughout  the  camp,  Washington  observed  that 
nine  thousand  of  the  troops  belonged  to  Massachusetts  ;  the  rest 
were  from  other  provinces.  They  were  encamped  in  separate 
bodies,  each  with  its  own  regulations,  and  officers  of  its  own  ap- 
pointment. Some  had  tents,  others  were  in  barracks,  and  others 
sheltered  themselves  as  best  they  might.  Many  were  sadly 
in  want  of  clothing,  and  all,  said  Washington,  were  strongly 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  insubordination,  which  they  mis- 
took for  independence. 


306  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

A  chaplain  of  one  of  the  regiments  *  has  left  on  record  a 
graphic  sketch  of  this  primitive  army  of  the  Revolution.  "It 
is  very  diverting/'  writes  he,  "  to  walk  among  the  camps.  They 
are  as  different  in  their  forms,  as  the  owners  are  in  their  dress ; 
and  every  tent  is  a  portraiture  of  the  temper  and  taste  of  the 
persons  who  encamp  in  it.  Some  are  made  of  boards,  and 
some  are  made  of  sailcloth  ;  some  are  partly  of  one,  and  partly 
of  the  other.  Again  others  are  made  of  stone  and  turf,  brick 
and  brush.  Some  are  thrown  up  in  a  hurry,  others  curiously 
wrought  with  wreaths  and  withes.'' 

One  of  the  encampments,  however,  was  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  rest,  and  might  vie  with  those  of  the  British  for  order 
and  exactness.  Here  were  tents  and  marquees  pitched  in  the 
English  style  ;  soldiers  well  drilled  and  well  equipped ;  every- 
thing had  an  air  of  discipline  and  subordination.  It  was  a 
body  of  E-hode  Island  troops,  which  had  been  raised,  drilled, 
and  brought  to  the  camp  by  Brigadier-general  Greene,  of  that 
province,  whose  subsequent  renown  entitles  him  to  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  reader. 

Nathaniel  Greene  was  born  in  Bhode  Island,  on  the  26th  of 
May,  1742.  His  father  was  a  miller,  an  anchorsmith,  and  a 
Quaker  preacher.  The  waters  of  the  Potowhammet  turned  the 
wheels  of  the  mill,  and  raised  the  ponderous  sledge-hammer  of 
the  forge.  Greene,  in  his  boyhood,  followed  the  plough,  and 
occasionally  worked  at  the  forge  of  his  father.  His  education 
was  of  an  ordinary  kind  ;  but  having  an  early  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge, he  applied  himself  sedulously  to  various  studies,  while 
subsisting  by  the  labor  of  his  hands.  Nature  had  endowed  him 
with  quick  parts,  and  a  sound  judgment,  and  his  assiduity  was 
crowned  with  success.  He  became  fluent  and  instructive  in 
conversation,  and  his  letters,  still  extant,  show  that  he  held  an 
able  pen. 

In  the  late  turn  of  public  affairs,  he  had  caught  the  belig- 
erent  spirit  prevalent  throughout  the  country.  Plutarch  and 
Caesar's  Commentaries  became  his  delight.  He  applied  himself 
to  military  studies,  for  which  he  was  prepared  by  some  knowl- 
edge of  mathematics.  His  ambition  was  to  organize  and  disci- 
pline a  corps  of  militia  to  which  he  belonged.  For  this  purpose 
during  a  visit  to  Boston,  he  had  taken  note  of  everything  about 
the  discipline  of  the  British  troops.  In  the  month  of  May,  he 
had  been  elected  commander  of  the  Rhode  Island  contingent  of 
the  army  of  observation,  and  in  June  had  conducted  to  the 
lines  before  Boston  three  regiments,  whose  encampment  we 
have  just  described,  and  who  were  pronounced  the  best  disci- 
plined and"  appointed  troops  in  the  army. 

*  The  Kev.  William  Emerson. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  307 

Greene  made  a  soldier-like  address  to  Washington,  welcoming 
him  to  the  camp.  His  appearance  and  manner  were  calculated 
to  make  a  favorable  impressioii.  He  was  about  thirty-nine 
years  of  age,  nearly  six  feet  high,  well  built  and  vigorous,  with 
an  open,  animated,  intelligent  countenance,  and  a  frank,  manly 
demeanor.  He  may  be  said  to  have  stepped  at  once  into  the 
confidence  of  the  commander-in-chief,  which  he  never  forfeited, 
but  became  one  of  his  most  attached,  faithful,  and  efficient  coad- 
jutors throughout  the  war. 

Having  taken  his  survey  of  the  army,  Washington  wrote  to 
the  President  of  Congress,  representing  its  various  deficiencies, 
and,  among  other  things,  urging  the  appointment  of  a  commis- 
sary-general, a  quartermaster-general,  a  commissary  of  musters, 
and  a  commissary  of  artillery.  Above  all  things,  he  requested 
a  supply  of  money  as  soon  as  possible.  "  I  find  myself  already 
much  embarrassed  for  want  of  a  military  chest." 

In  one  of  his  recommendations  we  have  an  instance  of  fron- 
tier expediency,  learnt  in  his  early  campaigns.  Speaking  of 
the  ragged  condition  of  the  army,  and  the  difficulty  of  procur- 
ing the  requisite  kind  of  clothing,  he  advises  that  a  number  of 
hunting  shirts,  not  less  than  ten  thousand,  should  be  provided ; 
as  being  the  cheapest  and  quickest  mode  of  supplying  this 
necessity.  "  I  know  nothing  in  a  speculative  view  more  trivial," 
observes  he,  ^'  yet  which,  if  put  in  practice,  would  have  a  hap- 
pier tendency  to  unite  the  men,  and  abolish  those  provincial 
distinctions  that  lead  to  jealousy  and  dissatisfaction." 

Among  the  troops  most  destitute,  were  those  belonging  to 
Massachusetts,  which  formed  the  larger  part  of  the  army. 
Washington  made  a  noble  apology  for  them.  "  This  unhappy 
and  devoted  province,"  said  he,  "  has  been  so  long  in  a  state  of 
anarchy,  and  the  yoke  has  been  laid  so  heavily  on  it,  that  great 
allowances  are  to  be  made  for  troops  raised  under  such  circum- 
stances. The  deficiency  of  numbers,  discipline,  and  stores,  can 
only  lead  to  this  conclusion,  that  their  spirit  has  exceeded  their 
strength.''^ 

This  apology  was  the  more  generous,coming  from  a  Southern- 
er ;  for  there  was  a  disposition  among  the  Southern  officers  to 
regard  the  Eastern  troops  disparagingly.  But  Washington 
already  felt  as  commander-in-chief,  who  looked  with  an  equal 
eye  on  all ;  or  rather  as  a  true  patriot,  who  was  above  all  sec- 
tional prejudices. 

One  of  the  most  efficient  cooperators  of  Washington  at  this 
time,  and  throughout  the  war,  was  Jonathan  Trumbull,  the 
governor  of  Connecticut.  He  was  a  Avell-educated  man,  ex- 
perienced in  public  business,  who  had  sat  for  many  years  in  the 


308  XIl^'J?  OF  WASHINGTON. 

legislative  councils  of  his  native  province.  Misfortune  had 
cast  him  down  from  affluence,  at  an  advanced  period  of  life,  but 
had  not  subdued  his  native  energy.  He  had  been  one  of  the 
leading  spirits  of  the  E-evolution,  and  the  only  colonial  governor 
who,  at  its  commencement,  proved  true  to  the  popular  cause. 
He  was  now  sixty-five  years  of  age,  active,  zealous,  devout,  a 
patriot  of  the  primitive  New  England  stamp,  whose  religion 
sanctified  his  patriotism.  A  letter  addressed  by  him  to  Wash- 
ington, just  after  the  latter  had  entered  upon  the  command,  is 
worthy  of  the  purest  days  of  the  Covenanters.  "Congress," 
writes  he,  "  have,  w4th  one  united  voice,  appointed  you  to  the 
high  station  you  possess.  The  Supreme  Director  of  all  events 
hath  caused  a  wonderful  union  of  hearts  and  counsels_to  sub- 
sist among  us.  "  ''  , 

"Now,  therefore,  be  strong,  and  very  courageous.  May^the 
God  of  the  armies  o£  Israel  shower  down  the  blessings  of  his 
Divine  providence  on  you;  give  you  wisdom  and  fortitude,' 
cover  your  head  in  the  day  of  battle  and  danger,  add  success, 
convince  our  enemies  of  their  mistaken  measures,  and  that  all 
their  attempts  to  deprive  these  colonies  of  their  inestimable 
constitutional  rights  and  liberties  are  injurious  and  vain.ji'' 

NOTE. 

We  are  obliged  to  Professor  Felton  of  Cambridge  for  correcting  an 
error  in  our  first  volume  in  regard  to  Washington's  head-quarters,  and 
for  some  particulars  concerning  a  house  associated  with  the  history  and 
literature  of  our  country. 

The  house  assigned  to  Washington  for  head-quarters,  was  that  of  the 
president  of  the  provincial  Congress,  not  of  the  University.  It  had  beeni 
one  of  those  tory  mansions  noticed  by  the  Baroness  Reidesel,  in  her  men- 
tion of  Cambridge.  "  Seven  families,  who  were  connected  by  relation- 
ship, or  lived  in  great  intimacy,  had  here  farms,  gardens,  and  splendid 
mansions,  and  not  far  off,  orcliards ;  and  the  buildings  were  at  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant  from  each  other.  The  owners  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
assembling  every  afternoon  in  one  or  other  of  these houses.and  of  divert- 
ing themselves  with  music  or  dancing  ;  and  lived  in  affluence,  in  good 
humor,  and  without  care,  until  this  unfortunate  war  dispersed  them, 
and  transformed  all  these  houses  into  solitary  abodes." 

The  house  in  question  was  confiscated  by  Government.  It  stood  on 
the  Watertown  road,  about  half  a  mile  west  of  the  college,  and  has 
long  been  known  as  the  Cragie  House,  from  the  name  of  Andrew  Cra- 
gie,  a  wealthy  gentleman,  who  purchased  it  after  the  war,  and  revived 
its  former  hospitality.  He  is  said  to  have  acquired  great  influence 
among  the  leading  members  of  the  *'  great  and  general  court,"  by  dint 
of  jovial  dinners.  He  died  long  ago,  but  his  widow  survived  until 
within  fifteen  years.  She  was  a  woman  of  much  talent  and  singularity. 
She  refused  to  have  the  canker-worms  destroyed,  when  they  were  mak- 
ing sad  ravages  among  the  beautiful  trees  on  the  lawn  before  the  house. 
"  We  are  all  worms,,  said  she,  "  and  they  have  as  a  good  a  right  here 
as  I  have."  The  consequence  was  that  more  than  a  half  of  the  trees 
I)erished. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  309 


CHAPTEE  XLIV. 

QUESTIONS  OF  MILITARY  RANK. POPULARITY    OF    PUTNAM. 

ARRANGEMENTS  AT  HEAD-QUARTERS.^COLONEL  MIFFLIN 
AND  JOHN  TRUMBULL,  AIDES-DE-CAMP. JOSEPH  REED,  WASH- 
INGTON'S SECRETARY  AND  CONFIDENTIAL  FRIEND. GATES  AS 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL. HAZARDOUS  SITUATION  OF  THE  ARMY. 

STRENGTHENING  OF  THE  DEFENSES. EFFICIENCY  OP  PUT- 
NAM.  RAPID  CH^JfGES. NEW  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  FORCES. 

RIGID  DISCIPLINE. LEE  AND    HIS    CANE. HIS     IDEA     AS     TO 

STRONG^  BATTALIONS. ARRIVAL      OF    RIFLE     COMPANIES. 

DANIEL    MORGAN   AND    HIS    SHARPSHOOTERS. WASHINGTON 

DECLINES  TO  DETACH  TROOPS  TO  DISTANT  POINTS  FOR  THEIR 
PROTECTION.*^HIS  REASON  FOR  SO  DOING. 

The  justice  and  impartiality  of  Washington  were  called  into 
exercise  as  soon  as  he^ntered  upon  liis  command,  in  allaying 
discontents  among  his  general  officers,  caused  by  the  recent  ap- 
pointments and  promotions  made  by  the  Continental  Congress. 
General^Spencer  was  so'offended  that  Putnam  should  be  pro- 
moted over  his  head,  that  he  left  the  army,  without  visiting 
the  commander-in-chief ;  but  was  subsequently  induced  to 
return.  General  Thomas  felt  aggrieved  by  being  out-ranked 
by  the  veteran  Pomeroy ;  the  latter,  however,  declining  to 
serve,  he  found  himself  senior  brigadier,  and  was  appeased. 

The  sterling  merits  of  Putnam  soon  made  every  one  acquiesce 
in  his  promotion.  There  was  a  generosity  and  buoyancy  about 
the  brave  old  man  that  made  him  a  favorite  throughout  the 
army  ;  especially  with  the  younger  officers,  who  spoke  of  him 
familiarly  and  fondly  as  "  Old  Put ; ''  a  sobriquet  by  which  he 
is  called  even  in  one  of  the  private  letters  of  the  commander-in 
chief. 

The  Cragie  House  is  associated  with  American  literature  through  some 
of  its  subsequent  occupants.  Mr.  Edward  Everett  resided  in  it  the  first 
year  or  two  after  his  marriage.  Later,  Mr.  Jared  Sparks,  during  part  of 
the  time  that  he  was  preparing  his  collection  of  Washington's  writings  ; 
editing  a  volume  or  two  of  his  letters  in  the  very  room  from  which  they 
were  written.  Next  came  Mr.  Worcester,  author  of  the  pugnacious  dic- 
tionary, and  of  many  excellent  books,  and  lastly,  Longfellow,  the  poet, 
who,  having  married  the  heroine  of  Hyperion,  purchased  the  house  of 
the  heirs  of  Mr.  Cragie  and  refitted  it. 


310  LIFE  OP  WASHINGTON. 

The  Congress  of  Massachusetts  manifested  considerate  liber- 
ality with  respect  to  head-quarters.  According  to  their  minutes, 
a  committee  was  charged  to  procure  a  steward,  a  housekeeper, 
and  two  or  three  women  cooks— Washington,  no  doubt,  having 
brought  with  him  none  but  the  black  servants  who  had  accom- 
panied him  to  Philadelphia,  and  who  Avere  but  little  fitted  for 
New  England  housekeeping.  His  wishes  were  to  be  consulted 
in  regard  to  the  supply  of  his  table.  This  his  station,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief, required  should  be  kept  up  in  ample  and  hospit- 
able style.  Every  day  a  number  of  his  officers  dined  with  him. 
As  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  seat  of  the  Provincial 
Government,  he  would  occasionally  have  members  of  Congress 
and  other  functionaries  at  his  board.  Though  social,  however, 
he  was  not  convivial  in  his  habits.  He  received  his  guests  with 
courtesy ;  but  his  mind  and  time  were  too  much  occupied  by 
grave  and  anxious  concerns,  to  permit  him  the  genial  indul- 
gence of  the  table.  His  own  diet  was  extremely  simple.  Some- 
times nothing  but  baked  apples  or  berries,  with  cream  and 
milk.  He  would  retire  early  from  the  board,  leaving  an  aide- 
de-camp  or  one  of  his  officers  to  take  his  place.  Colonel  Mifflin 
was  the  first  person  who  officiated  as  aide-de-camp.  He  was  a 
Philadelphia  gentleman  of  high  respectability,  who  had  accom- 
panied him  from  that  city,  and  received  his  appointment  short- 
ly after  their  arrival  at  Cambridge.  The  second  aide-de-camp 
was  John  Trumbull,*  son  of  the  governor  of  Connecticut.  He 
had  accompanied  General  Spencer  to  the  camp,  and  had  caught 
the  favorable  notice  of  "Washington  by  some  drawings  which 
he  had  made  of  the  enemy's  works.  "  I  now  suddenly  found 
myself,"  writes  Trumbull,  "  in  the  family  of  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  and  dignified  men  of  the  age  ;  surrounded  at  his 
table  by  the  principal  officers  of  the  army,  and  in  constant  in- 
tercourse with  them — it  was  further  my  duty  to  receive  com- 
pany, and  do  the  honors  of  the  house  to  many  of  the  first 
people  of  the  country  of  both  sexes."  Trumbull  was  j^oung, 
and  unaccustomed  to  society,  and  soon  found  himself,  he  says, 
unequal  to  the  elegant  duties  of  his  situation ;  he  gladly  ex- 
changed it,  therefore,  for  that  of  major  of  brigade. 

The  member  of  Washington's  family  most  deserving  of 
mention  at  present,  was  his  secretary,  Mr.  Joseph  Eeed.  With 
this  gentleman  he  had  formed  an  intimacy  in  the  course  of  his 
visits  to  Philadelphia,  to  attend  the  sessions  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  Mr.  E-eed  was  an  accomplished  man,  had  studied 
law  in  America,  and  at  the  Temple  in  London,  and  had  gained 
a  high  reputation  at  the  Philadelphia  bar.  In  the  dawning  of 
In  after  years  distinguished  as  a  historical  painter. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  'Sll 

the  Revolution  he  had  embraced  the  popular  cause,  and  car- 
ried on  a  correspondence  with  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  endeav- 
oring to  enlighten  that  minister  on  the  subject  of  colonial  af- 
fairs. He  had  since  been  highly  instrumental  in  rousing  the 
Fhiladelphians  to  cooperate  with  the  patriots  of  Boston.  A 
sympathy  of  views  and  feelings  had  attached  him  to  Washing- 
ton, and  induced  him  to  accompany  him  to  the  camp.  He  had 
no  definite  purpose  when  he  left  home,  and  his  friends  in  Phil- 
adelphia were  surprised,  on  receiving  a  letter  from  him  written 
from  Cambridge,  to  find  that  he  had  accepted  the  post  of  secre- 
tary to  the  commander-in  chief. 

They  expostulated  with  him  b}^  letter.  That  a  man  in  the 
thirty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  with  a  lucrative  profession,  a  young 
wife  and  growing  family,  and  a  happy  home,  should  suddenly 
abandon  all  to  join  the  hazardous  fortunes  of  a  revolutionary 
camp,  appeared  to  them  the  height  of  infatuation.  They  re- 
monstrated on  the  peril  of  the  step.  "  I  have  no  inclination," 
replied  Eeed,  "  to  be  hanged  for  half  treason.  When  a  sub- 
ject draws  his  sword  against  his  prince,  he  must  cut  his  way 
through,  if  he  means  to  sit  down  in  safety.  T  have  taken  too 
active  a  part  in  what  may  be  called  the  civil  part  of  opposition, 
to  renounce,  without  disgrace,  the  public  cause  when  it  seems 
to  lead  to  danger ;  and  have  a  most  sovereign  contempt  for  the 
man  who  can  plan  measures  he  has   not  the  spirit  to  execute." 

Washington  has  occasionally  been  represented  as  cold  and  re- 
served ;  yet  his  intercourse  with  Mr.  Reed  is  a  proof  to  the  con- 
trary. His  friendship  towards  him  was  frank  and  cordial,  and 
the  confidence  he  reposed  in  him  full  and  implicit.  Reed,  in 
fact,  became,  in  a  little  time,  the  intimate  companion  of  his 
thoughts,  his  bosom  counselor.  He  felt  the  need  of  such  a 
friend  in  the  present  exigency,  placed  as  he  was  in  a  new  and 
untried  situation,  and  having  to  act  with  persons  hitherto  un- 
known to  him. 

In  military  affairs,  it  is  true,  he  had  a  shrewd  counselor  in 
General  Lee  ;  but  Lee  was  a  wayward  character ;  a  cosmopolite, 
without  attachment  to  country,  somewhat  splenetic,  and  prone 
to  follow  the  bent  of  his  whims  and  humors,  which  often  clashed 
with  propriety  and  sound  policy.  Reed,  on  the  contrary, 
though  less  informed  on  military  matters,  had  a  strong  common 
sense,  unclouded  by  passion  or  prejudice,  and  a  pure  patriotism, 
which  regarded  everything  as  it  bore  upon  the  welfare  of  his 
country. 

Washington's  confidence  in  Lee  had  always  to  be  measured 
and  guarded  in  matters  of  civil  policy. 

The  arrival  of  Gates  in  camp  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the 


3l0  i-lFFi  OP  WASHlNGTOJ^. 

The  Congress  of  Massachusetts  manifested  considerate  liber- 
ality with  respect  to  head-quarters.  According  to  their  minutes, 
a  committee  was  charged  to  procure  a  steward,  a  housekeeper, 
and  two  or  three  women  cooks— Washington,  no  doubt,  having 
brought  with  him  none  but  the  black  servants  who  had  accom- 
panied him  to  Philadelphia,  and  who  Avere  but  little  fitted  for 
New  England  housekeeping.  His  Avishes  Avere  to  be  consulted 
in  regard  to  the  supply  of  his  table.  This  his  station,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief, required  should  be  kept  up  in  ample  and  hospit- 
able style.  Every  day  a  number  of  his  officers  dined  Avith  him. 
As  he  Avas  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  seat  of  the  Provincial 
Government,  he  Avould  occasionally  have  members  of  Congress 
and  other  functionaries  at  his  board.  Though  social,  hoAvever, 
he  was  not  convivial  in  his  habits.  He  received  his  guests  Avitli 
courtesy ;  but  his  mind  and  time  were  too  much  occupied  by 
grave  and  anxious  concerns,  to  permit  him  the  genial  indul- 
gence of  the  table.  His  OAvn  diet  Avas  extremely  simple.  Some- 
times nothing  but  baked  apples  or  berries,  with  cream  and 
milk.  He  w^ould  retire  early  from  the  board,  leaving  an  aide- 
de-camp  or  one  of  his  officers  to  take  his  place.  Colonel  Mifflin 
was  the  first  person  who  officiated  as  aide-de-camp.  He  Avas  a 
Philadelphia  gentleman  of  high  respectability,  who  had  accom- 
panied him  from  that  city,  and  received  his  appointment  short- 
ly after  their  arrival  at  Cambridge.  The  second  aide-de-camp 
was  John  Trumbull,*  son  of  the  gOA^ernor  of  Connecticut.  He 
had  accompanied  General  Spencer  to  the  camp,  and  had  caught 
the  favorable  notice  of  Washington  by  some  draAvings  Avhich 
he  had  made  of  the  enemy's  works.  "  I  now  suddenly  found 
myself,''  Avrites  Trumbull,  "  in  the  family  of  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  and  dignified  men  of  the  age  ;  surrounded  at  his 
table  by  the  principal  officers  of  the  army,  and  in  constant  in- 
tercourse with  them — it  was  further  my  duty  to  receive  com- 
pany, and  do  the  honors  of  the  house  to  many  of  the  first 
people  of  the  country  of  both  sexes."  Trumbull  was  j^oung, 
and  unaccustomed  to  society,  and  soon  found  himself,  he  says, 
unequal  to  the  elegant  duties  of  his  situation ;  he  gladly  ex- 
changed it,  therefore,  for  that  of  major  of  brigade. 

The  member  of  Washington's  family  most  deserving  of 
mention  at  present,  was  his  secretary,  Mr.  Joseph  Reed.  With 
this  gentleman  he  had  formed  an  intimacy  in  the  course  of  his 
visits  to  Philadelphia,  to  attend  the  sessions  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  Mr.  Reed  was  an  accomplished  man,  had  studied 
law  in  America,  and  at  the  Temple  in  London,  and  had  gained 
a  high  reputation  at  the  Philadelphia  bar.  In  the  daAvning  of 
In  after  years  distinguished  as  a  historical  painter. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  'Sll 

the  Revolution  he  had  embraced  the  popular  cause,  and  car- 
ried on  a  correspondence  with  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  endeav- 
oring to  enlighten  that  minister  on  the  subject  of  colonial  af- 
fairs. He  had  since  been  highly  instrumental  in  rousing  the 
Philadelphians  to  cooperate  with  the  patriots  of  Boston.  A 
sympathy  of  views  and  feelings  had  attached  him  to  Washing- 
ton, and  induced  him  to  accompany  him  to  the  camp.  He  had 
no  definite  purpose  when  he  left  home,  and  his  friends  in  Phil- 
adelphia were  surprised,  on  receiving  a  letter  from  him  written 
from  Cambridge,  to  find  that  he  had  accepted  the  post  of  secre- 
tary to  the  commander-in  chief. 

They  expostulated  with  him  b}^  letter.  That  a  man  in  the 
thirty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  with  a  lucrative  profession,  a  young 
wife  and  growing  family,  and  a  happy  home,  should  suddenly 
abandon  all  to  join  the  hazardous  fortunes  of  a  revolutionary 
camp,  appeared  to  them  the  height  of  infatuation.  They  re- 
monstrated on  the  peril  of  the  step.  "  I  have  no  inclination," 
replied  E-eed,  "  to  be  hanged  for  half  treason.  When  a  sub- 
ject draws  his  sword  against  his  prince,  he  must  cut  his  way 
through,  if  he  means  to  sit  down  in  safety.  T  have  taken  too 
active  a  part  in  what  may  be  called  the  civil  part  of  opposition, 
to  renounce,  without  disgrace,  the  public  cause  when  it  seems 
to  lead  to  danger ;  and  have  a  most  sovereign  contempt  for  the 
man  who  can  plan  measures  he  has   not  the  spirit  to  execute.'* 

Washington  has  occasionally  been  represented  as  cold  and  re- 
served ;  yet  his  intercourse  with  Mr.  E-eed  is  a  proof  to  the  con- 
trary. His  friendship  towards  him  was  frank  and  cordial,  and 
the  confidence  he  reposed  in  him  full  and  implicit.  Reed,  in 
fact^  became,  in  a  little  time,  the  intimate  companion  of  his 
thoughts,  his  bosom  counselor.  He  felt  the  need  of  such  a 
friend  in  the  present  exigency,  placed  as  he  was  in  a  new  and 
untried  situation,  and  having  to  act  with  persons  hitherto  un- 
known to  him. 

In  military  affairs,  it  is  true,  he  had  a  shrewd  counselor  in 
General  Lee  ;  but  Lee  was  a  wayward  character ;  a  cosmopolite, 
without  attachment  to  country,  somewhat  splenetic,  and  prone 
to  follow  the  bent  of  his  whims  and  humors,  which  often  clashed 
with  propriety  and  sound  policy.  Reed,  on  the  contrary, 
though  less  informed  on  military  matters,  had  a  strong  common 
sense,  unclouded  by  passion  or  prejudice,  and  a  pure  patriotism, 
which  regarded  everything  as  it  bore  upon  the  welfare  of  his 
country. 

Washington's  confidence  in  Lee  had  always  to  be  measured 
and  guarded  in  matters  of  civil  policy. 

The  arrival  of  Gates  in  camp  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the 


312,  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

commander-in-cliief,  wlio  had  received  a  letter  from  that  officer, 
gratefully  acknowledging  his  friendl}'^  iiiHuence  in  procuring 
him  the  appointment  of  adjutant-general.  Washington  may 
have  promised  himself  much  cordial  cooperation  from  him,  rec- 
ollecting the  warm  friendship  professed  by  him  when  he  visited 
a't  Mount  Vernon,  and  they  talked  together  over  their  early 
companionship  in  arms ;  but  of  that  kind  of  friendship  there 
was  no  further  manifestation.  Gates  was  certainly  of  great 
service,  from  his  practical  knowledge  and  military  experience  at 
this  juncture,  when  the  whole  army  had  in  a  manner  to  be  or- 
ganized ;  but  from  the  familiar  intimacy  of  Washington  he 
gradually  estranged  himself.  A  contemporary  has  accounted 
for  this,  by  alleging  that  he  was  secretly  chagrined  at  not 
having  received  the  appointment  of  major-general,  to  which  he 
considered  himself  well  fitted  by  his  military  knowledge  and 
experience,  and  which  he  thought  Washington  might  have  ob- 
tained for  him  had  he  used  his  influence  with  Congress.  We 
shall  have  to  advert  to  this  estrangement  of  Gates  on  subse- 
quent occasions. 

The  hazardous  position  of  the  army  from  the  great  extent  and 
weakness  of  its  lines,  was  what  most  pressed  on  the  immediate 
attention  of  Washington ;  and  he  summoned  a  council  of  war, 
to  take  the  matter  into  consideration.  In  this  it  was  urged 
that,  to  abandon  the  line  of  works,  after  the  great  labor  and  ex- 
pense of  their  construction,  would  be  dispiriting  to  the  troops 
and  encouraging  to  the  enemy,  while  it  would  expose  a  wide  ex- 
tent of  the  surrounding  country  to  maraud  and  ravage.  Be- 
sides, no  safer  position  presented  itself,  on  which  to  fall  back. 
This  being  generally  admitted,  it  was  determined  to  hold  on  to 
the  works,  and  defend  them  as  long  as  possible  ;  and,  in  the  mean- 
time, to  augment  the  army  to  at  least  twenty  thousand  men. 

Washington  now  hastened  to  improve  the  defenses  of  the 
camp,  strengthen  the  weak  parts  of  the  line,  and  throw  up  ad- 
ditional works  round  the  main  forts.  No  one  seconded  him 
more  effectually  in  this  matter  than  General  Putnam.  No 
works  were  thrown  up  with  equal  rapidity  to  those  under  his 
superintendence.  "You  seem,  general,"  said  Washington,  "to 
have  the  faculty  of  infusing  your  own  spirit  into  all  the  work- 
men you  employ ;  " — and  it  w^as  the  fact. 

The  observing  chaplain  already  cited,  gazed  with  w^onder  at 
the  rapid  effects  soon  produced  by  the  labors  of  an  army.  "  It 
is  surprising,"  writes  he,  "  how  much  work  has  been  done.  The 
lines  are  extended  almost  from  Cambridge  to  Mystic  Eiver ; 
very  soon  it  will  be  morally  impossible  for  the  enemy  to  get  be- 
tween the  works,  except  in  one  place,  which  is  supposed  to  be 


LIFE  OF  WASTIINGTOK.  313 

left  purposly  unfortified,  to  entice  the  enemy  out  of  their  fort- 
resses. Who  would  have  thought,  twelve  months  past,  that  all 
Cambridge  and  Charlestown  would  be  covered  over  with 
American  camps,  and  cut  up  into  forts  and  intrenchments,  and 
all  the  lands,  fields,  orchards,  laid  common, — horses  and  cattle 
feeding  on  the  choicest  mowing  land,  whole  fields  of  corn  eaten 
down  to  the  ground,  and  large  parks  of  well-regulated  forest 
trees  cut  down  for  firewood  and  other  public  uses." 

Beside  the  main  dispositions  above  mentioned,  about  seven 
hundred  men  were  distributed  in  the  small  towns  and  villages 
along  the  coast,  to  prevent  depredations  by  water ;  and  horses 
were  kept  read}"  saddled  at  various  points  of  the  widely  ex- 
tended lines,  to  convey  to  headquarters  intelligence  of  any 
special  movement  of  the  enemy. 

The  army  was  distributed  by  Washington  into  three  grand 
divisions.  One,  forming  the  right  wing,  was  stationed  on  the 
heights  of  Koxbury.  It  was  commanded  by  Major-general 
Ward,  who  had  under  him  Brigadier-generals  Spencer  and 
Thomas.  Another,  forming  the  left  wing,  under  Major-general 
Lee,  having  with  him  Brigadier-generals  Sullivan  and  Greene, 
was  stationed  on  Winter  and  Prospect  Hills  ;  while  the  centre, 
under  Major-general  Putnam  and  Brigadier-general  Heath,  was 
stationed  at  Cambridge.  With  Putnam  was  encamped  his  favor- 
ite officer  Knowlton,  who  had  been  promoted  by  Congress  to  the 
rank  of  major  for  his  gallantry  at  Bunker's  Hill. 

At  Washington's  recommendation,  Joseph  Trumbull,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  governor,  received,  on  the  24th  of  July,  the  ap- 
pointment of  commissary-general  of  the  continental  army.  He 
had  already  officiated  with  talent  in  that  capacity  in  the  Con- 
necticut militia.  "  There  is  a  great  overturning  in  the  camp  as 
to  order  and  regularity,"  writes  the  military  chaplain  ;  "  new 
lords,  new  laws.  The  generals  Washington  and  Lee  are  upon 
the  lines  every  day.  New  orders  from  his  excellency  are  read  to 
the  respective  regiments  every  morning  after  prayers.  The 
strictest  government  is  taking  place,  and  great  distinction  is 
made  between  officers  and  soldiers.  Every  one  is  made  to  know 
his  place  and  keep  it,  or  be  tied  up  and  receive  thirty  or  forty 
lashes  according  to  his  crime.  Thousands  are  at  work  every 
day  from  four  till  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning." 

Lee  was  supposed  to  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  this  rigid 
discipline — the  result  of  his  experience  in  European  campaign- 
ing. His  notions  of  military  authority  were  acquired  in  the 
armies  of  the  North.  Quite  a  sensation  was,  on  one  occasion, 
produced  in  camp  by  his  threatening  to  cane  an  officer  for  un- 
soldierly    conduct.      His    laxity   in    other   matters    occasioned 


314  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

almost  equal  scandal.  He  scoffed,  we  are  told,  '•'  with  his  usual 
profaneness,  "  at  a  resolution  of  Congress  appointing  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer,  to  obtain  the  favor  of  heaven  upon  their  cause. 
"  Heaven,"  he  observed,  "  was  ever  found  favorable  to  strong 
battalions."  * 

Washington  differed  from  him  in  this  respect. ,  By  his  orders 
the  resolution  of  Congress  was  scrupulously  enforced.  All  labor, 
excepting  that  absolutely  necessary,  was  suspended  on  the  ap- 
pointed day ;  and  officers  and  soldiers  were  required  to  attend 
divine  service,  armed  and  equipped  and  ready  for  immediate 
action. 

Nothing  excited  more  gaze  and  wonder  among  the  rustic 
visitors  to  the  camp,  than  the  arrival  of  several  rifle  companies, 
fourteen  hundred  men  in  all,  from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia;  such  stalwart  fellows  as  Washington  had  .known  in 
his  early  campaigns.  Stark  hunters  and  bush  fighters  ;  many 
of  them  upwards  of  six  feet  high,  and  of  vigorous  frame  ;  dressed 
in  fringed  frocks,  or  rifle  shirts  and  round  hats.  Their  displays 
of  sharpshooting  were  soon  among  the  marvels  of  the  camp. 
We  are  told  that  while  advancing  at  quick  step,  they  could  hit  a 
mark  of  seven  inches  diameter,  at  the  distance  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  yards.* 

One  of  these  companies  was  commanded  hj  Captain  Daniel 
Morgan,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  whose  first  experience  in  war 
had  been  to  accompany  Braddock's  army  as  a  wagoner.  He 
had  since  carried  arms  on  the  frontier  and  obtained  a  command. 
He  and  his  riflemen  in  coming  to  the  camp  had  marched  six 
hundred  miles  in  three  weeks.  They  willbe  found  of  signal 
efficiency  in  the  sharpest  conflicts  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 

While  all  his  forces  were  required  for  the  investment  of 
Boston,  Washington  was  importuned  by  the  Legislature  of 
Massachusetts  and  the  governor  of  Connecticut,  to  detach 
troops  for  the  protection  of  different  points  of  the  sea-coast, 
where  depredations  by  armed  vessels  were  apprehended.  The 
case  of  New  London  was  specified  by  Governor  Trumbull,  where 
Captain  Wallace  of  the  Mose  frigate,  with  two  other  ships  of 
war,  had  entered  the  harbor,  landed  men,  spiked  the  cannon, 
and  gone  off  threatening  future  visits. 

Washington  referred  to  his  instructions,  and  consulted  with 
his  general  officers  and  such  members  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress as  happened  to  be  in  camp,  before  he  replied  to  these 
requests  ;  he  then  respectfully  declined  compliance. 

In  his  reply  to  the   General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  he 

*  Graydon's  Memoirs,  p.  138. 

t  Thacher's  Military  Journal^  p.  37 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  315 

stated  frankly  and  explicitly  the  policy  and  system  on  which 
the  war  was  to  be  conducted,  and  according  to  which  he  was  to 
act  as  commander-in-chief.  "  It  has  been  debated  in  Congress 
and  settled,"  writes  he,  "  that  the  militia,  or  other  internal 
strength  of  each  province,  is  to  be  applied  for  defense  against 
those  small  and  particular  depredations,  which  were  to  be  ex- 
pected, and  to  which  they  were  supposed  to  be  competent.  This 
will  appear  the  more  proper,  when  it  is  considered  that  every 
town,  and  indeed  every  part  of  our  sea-coast,  which  is  exposed 
to  these  depredations,  would  have  an  equal  claim  upon  this 
army. 

"It  is  the  misfortune  of  our  situation  which  exposes  us  to  these 
ravages,  and  against  which,  in  my  judgment,  no  such  temporary 
relief  could  possibly  secure  us.  The  great  advantage  the  enemy 
have  of  transporting  troops,  by  being  masters  of  the  sea,  will  en- 
able them  to  harass  us  by  diversions  of  this  kind ;  and  should  we 
be  tempted  to  pursue  them,  upon  every  alarm,  the  army  must 
either  be  so  weakened  as  to  expose  it  to  destruction,  or  a  great 
part  of  the  coast  be  still  left  unprotected.  Nor,  indeed,  does  it 
appear  to  me  that  such  a  pursuit  would  be  attended  with  the 
least  effect.  The  first  notice  of  such  an  excursion  would  be  its 
actual  execution,  and  long  before  any  troops  could  reach  the 
scene  of  action,  the  enemy  would  have  an  opportunity  to  ac- 
complish their  purpose  and  retire.  It  would  give  me  great 
pleasure  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  extend  protection  and  safety 
to  every  individual ;  but  the  wisdom  of  the  G-eneral  Court  will 
anticipate  me  on  the  necessity  of  conducting  our  operations  on 
a  general  and  impartial  scale,  so  as  to  exclude  any  just  cause 
of  complaint  and  jealousy." 

His  reply  to  the  governor  of  Connecticut  was  to  the  same  ef- 
fect. "  I  am  by  no  means  insensible  to  the  situation  of  the 
people  on  the  coast.  I  wish  I  could  extend  protection  to  all, 
but  the  numerous  detachments  necessary  to  remedy  the  evil 
would  amount  to  a  dissolution  of  the  army,  or  make  the  most 
important  operations  of  the  campaign  depend  upon  the  piratical 
expeditions  of  two  or  three  men-of-war  and  transports." 

His  refusal  to  grant  the  required  detachments  gave  much 
dissatisfaction  in  some  quarters,  until  sanctioned  and  enforced 
by  the  Continental  Congress.  All  at  length  saw  and  acquiesced 
in  the  justice  and  wisdom  of  his  decision.  It  was  in  fact  a 
vital  question,  involving  the  whole  character  and  fortune  of  the 
war ;  and  it  was  acknowledged  that  he  met  it  with  a  forecast 
and  determination  befitting  a  commander-in-chief. 


i 


316  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 
Washington's    object  in  distressing  boston. — scarcity 

AND  SICKNESS  IN    THE    TOWN. A    STARTLING    DISCOVERY. — 

SCARCITY  OF  POWDER  IN  THE  CAMP. ITS  PERILOUS  SITUA- 
TION.  ECONOMY  OF  AMMUNITION. CORRESPONDENCE  BE- 
TWEEN   LEE     AND    BURGOYNE. CORRESPONDENCE    BETWEEN 

WASHINGTON    AND    GAGE. THE    DIGNITY    OF    THE    PATRIOT 

ARMY  ASSERTED. 

The  great  object  of  Washington  at  present,  was  to  force  the 
enemy  to  come  out  of  Boston  and  try  a  decisive  action.  His 
lines  had  for  some  time  cut  off  all  communication  of  the  town 
with  the  country,  and  he  had  caused  the  live  stock  within  a 
considerable  distance  of  the  place  to  be  driven  back  from  the 
coast,  out  of  reach  of  the  men-of-war's  boats.  Fresh  provisions 
and  vegetables  were  consequently  growing  more  and  more 
scarce  and  extravagantly  dear,  and  sickness  began  to  prevail. 
"  I  have  done  and  shall  do  everything  in  my  power  to  distress 
them,"  writes  he  to  his  brother  John  Augustine.  "  The  tran- 
sports have  all  arrived,  and  their  whole  reinforcement  islanded, 
so  that  I  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not,  if  they  ever  attempt 
it,  come  boldly  out  and  put  the  matter  to  issue  at  once." 

"  We  are  in  the  strangest  state  in  the  world,"  writes  a  lady 
from  Boston,  "  surrounded  on  all  sides.  The  whole  countr}^ 
is  in  arms  and  intrenched.  We  are  deprived  of  fresh  pro- 
visions, subject  to  continual  alarms  and  cannonadings,  the 
provincials  being  very  audacious  and  advancing  to  our  lines, 
since  the  arrival  of  generals  Washington  and  Lee  to  command 
them." 

At  this  critical  juncture,  when  Washington  was  pressing 
the  siege,  and  endeavoring  to  provoke  a  general  action  a 
startling  fact  came  to  light ;  the  whole  amount  of  powder  in 
the  camp  would  not  furnish  more  than  nine  cartridges  to  a 
man  !  * 

A  gross  error  had  been  made  by  the  committee  of  supplies 
when  Washington,  on  taking  command,  had  required  a  return 
of  the  ammunition.  They  had  returned  the  whole  amount  of 
powder  collected  by  the  province,  upwards  of  three  hundred 
barrels  ;  without  stating  what  had  been  expended.  The  blunder 
*  Letter  to  the  President  of  Congress,  Aug.  4. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  317 

was  detected  on  an  order  oeing  issued  for  a  new  supply  of 
cartridges.  It  was  found  that  there  were  but  thirty-two  barrels 
of  powder  in  store. 

This  was  an  astounding  discovery.     Washington  instantly 
despatched  letters  and  expresses  to  Rhode  Island,  the  Jerseys, 
Ticonderoga  and  elsewhere,  urging  immediate  supplies  of  pow- 
der and  lead ;  no  quantity,  however  small,  to  be  considered  be- 
neath notice.     In  a  letter  to  Governor  Cooke  of  Rhode  Island, 
he  suggested  that  an   armed  vessel   of  that  province  might  be 
sent  to   seize  upon  a  magazine  of  gunpowder,  said  to  be  in   a 
remote  part  of  the  island  of  Bermuda.     "  I  am  very  sensible," 
writes  he,  "that  at  first  view  the  project  may  appear  hazardous, 
and  its  success  must  depend  on  the  concurrence  of  many   cir- 
cumstances ;  but  we  are  in  a  situation  which  requires  us  to  run 
all  risks.     .....      Enterprises    which   appear   chimerical, 

often  prove  successful  from  that  very  circumstance.  Common 
sense  and  prudence  will  suggest  vigilance  and  care,  where  the 
danger  is  plain  and  obvious ;  but  where  little  danger  is  appre- 
hended, the  more  the  enemy  will  be  unprepared,  and,  conse- 
quently, there  is  the  fairest  prospect  of  success." 

Day  after  day  elapsed  without  the  arrival  of  any  supplies ; 
for  in  these  irregular  times,  the  munitions  of  war  were  not 
readily  procured.  It  seemed  hardly  possible  that  the  matter 
could  be  kept  concealed  from  the  enemy.  Their  works  on 
Bunker's  Hill  commanded  a  full  view  of  those  of  the  Americans 
on  Winter  and  Prospect  hills.  Each  camp  could  see  what  was 
passing  in  the  other.  The  sentries  were  almost  near  enough 
to  converse.  There  was  furtive  intercourse  occasionally  be- 
tween the  men.  In  this  critical  state,  the  American  camp  re- 
mained for  a  fortnight ;  the  anxious  commander  incessantly 
apprehended  an  attack.  At  length  a  partial  supply  from  the 
Jersej^s  put  an  end  to  this  imminent  risk.  Washington's 
secretary  Reed,  who  had  been  the  confident  of  his  troubles  and 
anxieties,  gives  a  vivid  expression  of  his  feelings  on  the  arrival 
of  this  relief.  "  I  can  hardly  look  back  without  shuddering,  at 
our  situation  before  this  increase  of  our  stock.  JStocJc  did  I 
say  ?  it  was  next  to  nothing.  Almost  the  whole  powder  of  the 
army  was  in  the  cartridge-boxes."  * 

It  is  thought  that,  considering  the  clatidestine  intercourse 
carried  on  between  the  two  camps,  intelligence  of  this  deficiency 
of  ammunition  on  the  part  of  the  besiegers  must  have  been  con- 
veyed to  the  British  commander ;  but  that  the  bold  face  with 
which  the  Americans  continued  to  maintain  their  position  made 
him  discredit  it. 

*  Jleed  to  Thomas  Bradford.  Life  and  Correspondence,  vol.  i.  p.  118, 


320  LIFE  OP  WASHINGTOn. 

Jiave  been  compatible,  and  humanity  to  the  subdued  has  become 
ahnost  a  general  system.  Britons,  ever  pre-eminent  in  mercy, 
have  outgone  common  examples,  and  overlooked  the  criminal  in 
the  captive.  Upon  these  principles  your  prisoners,  whose  lives 
by  the  law  of  the  land  are  destined  to  the  cord,  have  hitherto 
been  treated  with  care  and  kindness,  and  more  comfortably 
lodged  than  the  king's  troops  in  the  hospitals  ;  indiscriminate- 
ly, it  is  true,  for  I  acknowledge  no  rank  that  is  not  derived 
from  the  king. 

"  My  intelligence  from  your  army  would  justify  severe  re- 
criminations. I  understand  there  are  of  the  king's  faithful 
subjects,  taken  some  time  since  by  the  rebels,  laboring,  like 
negro  slaves  to  gain  their  daily  subsistence,  or  reduced  to  the 
wretched  alternative  to  perish  by  famine  or  take  arms  against 
their  king  and  country.  Those  who  have  made  the  treatment 
of  the  prisoners  in  my  hands,  or  of  your  other  friends  in 
Boston,  a  pretense  for  such  measures,  found  barbarity  upon 
falsehood. 

"  I  would  willingly  hope,  sir,  that  the  sentiments  of  liberality 
which  I  have  always  believed  you  to  possess,  will  be  exerted  to 
correct  these  misdoings.  Be  temperate  in  political  disquisition : 
give  free  operation  to  truth,  and  punish  those  who  deceive  and 
misrepresent ;  and  not  only  the  effects,  but  the  cause,  of  this 
unhappy  conflict  will  be  removed.  Should  those,  under  whose 
usurped  authority  you  act,  control  such  a  disposition,  and  dare 
to  call  severity  retaliation ;  to  God,  who  knows  all  hearts,  be  the 
appeal  of  the  dreadful  consequences,"  etc. 

There  were  expressions  in  the  foregoing  letter  well  calculated 
to  rouse  indignant  feelings  in  the  miost  temperate  bosom. 
Had  Washington  been  as  readily  moved  to  transports  of  pas- 
sion as  some  are  pleased  to  represent  him,  the  rebel  and  .the 
cord  might  readily  have  stung  him  to  fury  ;  but  with  him, 
anger  was  checked  in  its  impulses  by  higher  energies,  and 
reigned  in  to  give  a  grander  effect  to  the  dictates  of  his  judg- 
ment. The  following  was  his  noble  and  dignified  reply  to 
General  Gage : — 

"  I  addressed  you,  sir,  on  the  11th  instant,  in  terms  which 
gave  the  fairest  scope  for  that  humanity  and  politeness  which 
were  supposed  to  form  a  part  of  your  character.  I  remon- 
strated with  you  on  the  unworthy  treatment  shown  to  the  offi- 
cers and  citizens  of  America,  whom  the  fortune  of  war,  chance, 
or  a  mistaken  confidence,  had  thrown  into  your  hands. 
Whether  British  or  American  mercy,  fortitude,  and  patience 
are  most  pre-eminent ;  whether  our  virtuous  citizens,  whom  the 
hand  of  tyranny  has  forced  into   arms  to   defend  their  wives, 


LIFE  OF  WASniNQTON.  :)2l 

tlieir  children,  and  their  property,  or  the  merciless  instruments 
of  lawless  domination,  avarice,  and  revenge,  best  deserve  the 
appellation  of  rebels  and  the  punishment  of  that  cord  which 
your  affected  clemency  has  forborne  to  inflict ;  whether  the 
authority  under  which  I  act  is  usurped,  or  founded  upon  the 
genuine  principles  of  liberty,  were  altogether  foreign  to  the 
subject.  I  purposely  avoided  all  political  disquisition*,  nor 
shall  I  now  avail  myself  of  those  advantages  which  the  sacred 
cause  of  my  country,  of  liberty,  and  of  human  nature  give  me 
over  you ;  much  less  shall  I  stoop  to  retort  an  invective  ;  but 
the  intelligence  you  say  you  have  received  from  our  army  re- 
quires a  reply.  I  have  taken  time,  sir,  to  make  a  strict  inquiry, 
and  find  it  has  not  the  least  foundation  in  truth.  Not  only 
your  officers  and  soldiers  have  been  treated  with  the  tenderness 
due  to  fellow-citizens  and  brethren,  but  even  those  execrable 
parricides,  whose  counsels  and  aid  have  deluged  their  country 
with  blood,  have  been  protected  from  the  fury  of  a  justly  en- 
raged people.  Far  from  compelling  or  permitting  their  assist- 
ance, I  am  embarrassed  with  the  numbers  who  crowd  to  our 
camp,  animated  with  the  Durest  principles  of  virtue  and  love  to 
their  country 

*^  You  affect,  sir,  to  despise  all  rank  not  derived  from  the 
same  source  with  your  own.  I  cannot  conceive  one  more  honor- 
acle  than  that  which  flows  from  the  uncorrupted  choice  of  a 
brave  and  free  people,  the  purest  source  and  original  fountain 
of  all  power.  Far  from  making  it  a  plea  for  cruelty,  a  mind  of 
true  magnanimity  and  enlarged  ideas  would  comprehend  and 
respect  it. 

"  What  may  have  been  the  ministerial  views  which  have  pre- 
cipated  the  present  crisis,  Lexington,  Concord,  and  Charlestown 
can  best  declare.  May  that  God,  to  whom  you,  too,  appeal, 
judge  between  America  and  you.  Under  his  providence,  those 
who  influence  the  councils  of  America,  and  all  the  other  inhabi- 
tants of  the  united  colonies,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  are 
determined  to  hand  down  to  posterity  those  just  and  invaluable 
privileges  which  they  received  from  their  ancestors. 

"  I  shall  now,  sir,  close  my  correspondence  with  you, 
perhaps  forever.  If  your  officers,  our  prisoners,  receive  a  treat- 
ment from  me  different  from  that  which  I  wished  to  show  them, 
they  and  you  will  remember  the  occasion  of  it." 

We  have  given  these  letters  of  Washington  almost  entire, 
for  they  contain  his  manifesto  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
armies  of  the  Revolution ;  setting  forth  the  opinions  and  mo- 
tives by  which  he  was  governed,  and  the  principles  on  which 
hostilities  on  his  part  would  be  conducted.     It  was  planting 


320  LIFE  OP  WASHING  fan. 

have  been  compatible,  and  humanity  to  the  subdued  has  become 
almost  a  general  system.  Britons,  ever  pre-eminent  in  mercy, 
have  outgone  common  examples,  and  overlooked  the  criminal  in 
the  captive.  Upon  these  principles  your  prisoners,  whose  lives 
by  the  law  of  the  land  are  destined  to  the  cord,  have  hitherto 
been  treated  with  care  and  kindness,  and  more  comfortably 
lodged  than  the  king's  troops  in  the  hospitals  ;  indiscriminate- 
ly, it  is  true,  for  I  acknowledge  no  rank  that  is  not  derived 
from  the  king. 

"  My  intelligence  from  your  army  would  justify  severe  re- 
criminations. I  understand  there  are  of  the  king's  faithful 
subjects,  taken  some  time  since  by  the  rebels,  laboring,  like 
negro  slaves  to  gain  their  daily  subsistence,  or  reduced  to  the 
wretched  alternative  to  perish  by  famine  or  take  arms  against 
their  king  and  country.  Those  who  have  made  the  treatment 
of  the  prisoners  in  my  hands,  or  of  your  other  friends  in 
Boston,  a  pretense  for  such  measures,  found  barbarity  upon 
falsehood. 

"  I  would  willingly  hope,  sir,  that  the  sentiments  of  liberality 
which  I  have  always  believed  you  to  possess,  will  be  exerted  to 
correct  these  misdoings.  Be  temperate  in  political  disquisition : 
give  free  operation  to  truth,  and  punish  those  who  deceive  and 
misrepresent ;  and  not  only  the  effects,  but  the  cause,  of  this 
unhappy  conflict  will  be  removed.  Should  those,  under  whose 
usurped  authority  you  act,  control  such  a  disposition,  and  dare 
to  call  severity  retaliation ;  to  God,  who  knows  all  hearts,  be  the 
appeal  of  the  dreadful  consequences,"  etc. 

There  were  expressions  in  the  foregoing  letter  well  calculated 
to  rouse  indignant  feelings  in  the  most  temperate  bosom. 
Had  Washington  been  as  readily  moved  to  transports  of  pas- 
sion as  some  are  pleased  to  represent  him,  the  rebel  and  .the 
cord  might  readily  have  stung  him  to  fury  ;  but  with  him, 
anger  was  checked  in  its  impulses  by  higher  energies,  and 
reigned  in  to  give  a  grander  effect  to  the  dictates  of  his  judg- 
ment. The  following  was  his  noble  and  dignified  reply  to 
General  Gage : — 

"  I  addressed  you,  sir,  on  the  11th  instant,  in  terms  which 
gave  the  fairest  scope  for  that  humanity  and  politeness  which 
were  supposed  to  form  a  part  of  your  character.  I  remon- 
strated with  you  on  the  unworthy  treatment  shown  to  the  offi- 
cers and  citizens  of  America,  whom  the  fortune  of  war,  chance, 
or  a  mistaken  confidence,  had  thrown  into  your  hands. 
Whether  British  or  American  mercy,  fortitude,  and  patience 
are  most  pre-eminent ;  whether  our  virtuous  citizens,  whom  the 
hand  of  tyranny  has  forced  into   arms  to   defend  their  wives, 


ItF:^  OF  WASBIJ^GTOI^.  .021 

tlieir  children,  and  their  property,  or  the  merciless  instruments 
of  lawless  domination,  avarice,  and  revenge,  best  deserve  the 
appellation  of  rebels  and  the  punishment  of  that  cord  which 
your  affected  clemency  has  forborne  to  inflict ;  whether  the 
authority  under  which  I  act  is  usurped,  or  founded  upon  the 
genuine  principles  of  liberty,  were  altogether  foreign  to  the 
subject.  I  purposely  avoided  all  political  disquisition  5  nor 
shall  I  now  avail  myself  of  those  advantages  which  the  sacred 
cause  of  my  country,  of  liberty,  and  of  human  nature  give  me 
over  you ;  much  less  shall  I  stoop  to  retort  an  invective  ;  but 
the  intelligence  you  say  you  have  received  from  our  army  re- 
quires a  reply.  I  have  taken  time,  sir,  to  make  a  strict  inquiry, 
and  find  it  has  not  the  least  foundation  in  truth.  Not  only 
your  officers  and  soldiers  have  been  treated  with  the  tenderness 
due  to  fellow-citizens  and  brethren,  but  even  those  execrable 
parricides,  whose  counsels  and  aid  have  deluged  their  country 
with  blood,  have  been  protected  from  the  fury  of  a  justly  en- 
raged people.  Far  from  compelling  or  permitting  their  assist- 
ance, I  am  embarrassed  with  the  numbers  who  crowd  to  our 
camp,  animated  with  the  Durest  principles  of  virtue  and  love  to 
their  country 

"  You  affect,  sir,  to  despise  all  rank  not  derived  from  the 
same  source  with  your  own.  I  cannot  conceive  one  more  honor- 
acle  than  that  which  flows  from  the  uncorrupted  choice  of  a 
brave  and  free  people,  the  purest  source  and  original  fountain 
of  all  power.  Far  from  making  it  a  plea  for  cruelty,  a  mind  of 
true  magnanimity  and  enlarged  ideas  would  comprehend  and 
respect  it. 

"  What  may  have  been  the  ministerial  views  which  have  pre- 
cipated  the  present  crisis,  Lexington,  Concord,  and  Charlestown 
can  best  declare.  May  that  God,  to  whom  you,  too,  appeal, 
judge  between  America  and  you.  Under  his  providence,  those 
who  influence  the  councils  of  America,  and  all  the  other  inhabi- 
tants of  the  united  colonies,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  are 
determined  to  hand  down  to  posterity  those  just  and  invaluable 
privileges  which  the}'^  received  from  their  ancestors. 

"I  shall  now,  sir,  close  my  correspondence  with  you, 
perhaps  forever.  If  your  officers,  our  prisoners,  receive  a  treat- 
ment from  me  different  from  that  which  I  wished  to  show  them, 
they  and  you  will  remember  the  occasion  of  it." 

We  have  given  these  letters  of  Washington  almost  entire, 
for  they  contain  his  manifesto  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
armies  of  the  Revolution ;  setting  forth  the  opinions  and  mo- 
tives by  which  he  was  governed,  and  the  principles  on  which 
hostilities  on  his  part  would  be  conducted.     It  was  planting 


324  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

that  province,  aided  if  necessary  by  the  New  England  colonies, 
on  whom  it  was  authorized  to  call  for  military  assistance. 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York  forthwith  invited  the 
^^  Governor  and  Company  of  the  English  colony  of  Connecticut " 
to  place  part  of  their  forces  in  these  captured  posts,  until  re- 
lieved by  New  York  troops ;  and  Trumbull,  the  governor  of 
Connecticut,  soon  gave  notice  that  one  thousand  men,  under 
Colonel  Hinman,  were  on  the  point  of  marching  for  the  re- 
inforcement of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 

It  had  been  the  idea  of  the  Continental  Congress  to  have 
those  posts  dismantled,  and  the  cannon  and  stores  removed  to 
the  south  end  of  Lake  George,  where  a  strong  post  was  to  be  estab- 
lished. But  both  Allen  and  Arnold  exclaimed  against  such  a 
measure,  vaunting,  and  with  reason,  the  importance  of  those  forts. 

Both  Allen  and  Arnold  where  ambitious  of  further  laurels. 
Both  were  anxious  to  lead  an  expedition  into  Canada ;  and 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  would  open  the  way  to  it. 
"  The  key  is  ours,"  writes  Allen  to  the  New  York  Congress.' 
^'  If  the  colonies  would  suddenly  push  an  army  of  two  or  three 
thousand  men  into  Canada,  they  might  make  an  easy  conquest 
of  all  that  would  oppose  them,  in  the  extensive  province  of 
Quebec,  except  a  reinforcement  from  England  should  prevent 
it.  Such  a  diversion  would  weaken  Gage,  and  insure  us  Can 
ada.  I  wish  to  God  America  would,  at  this  critical  juncture,  ex- 
ert herself  agreeably  to  the  indignity  offered  her  by  a  tyranni 
cal  ministry.  She  might  rise  on  eagle's  wings,  and  mount  up 
to  glory,  freedom,  and  immortal  honor,  if  she  did  but  know  and 
exert  her  strength.  Fame  is  now  hovering  over  her  head.  A 
vast  continent  must  now  sink  to  slavery,  poverty,  horror,  and 
bondage,  or  rise  to  unconquerable  freedom,  immense  wealth, 
inexpressible  felicity,  and  immortal  fame. 

"  I  will  lay  my  life  on  it,  that  with  fifteen  hundred  men,  and 
a  proper  train  of  artillery,  I  will  take  Montreal.  Provided  I 
could  be  thus  furnished,  and  if  an  army  could  command  the 
field,  it  would  be  no  insuperable  difficulty  to  take  Quebec." 

A  letter  to  the  same  purport,  and  with  the  same  rhetorical 
flourish,  on  which  he  appeared  to  value  himself,  was  written  by 
Allen  to  Trumbull,  the  governor  of  Connecticut.  Arnold  urged 
the  same  project,  but  in  less  magniloquent  language,  upon  the 
attention  of  the  Continental  Congress.  His  letter  was  dated 
from  Crown  Point,  where  he  had  a  little  squadron,  composed  of 
the  sloop  captured  at  St.  John's,  a  schooner,  and  a  flotilla  of 
bateaux.  All  these  he  had  equipped,  armed,  manned,  and 
officered  ;  and  his  crews  were  devoted  to  him.  In  bis  letter  to 
the  Continental  Congress,  he  gave  information  concerning  Can- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  325 

ada,  collected  through  spies  and  agents.  Carleton,  he  said, 
had  not  six  hundred  effective  men  under  him.  The  Canadians 
and  Indians  were  disaffected  to  the  British  Government,  and 
Montreal  was  ready  to  throw  open  its  gates  to  a  patriot  force. 
Two  thousand  men,  he  was  certain,  would  be  sufficient  to  get 
possession  of  the  province. 

"  I  beg  leave  to  add,"  says  he,  "  that  if  no  person  appears 
who  will  undertake  to  carry  the  plan  into  execution,  I  will 
undertake,  and,  with,  the  smiles  of  Heaven,  answer  for  the  suc- 
cess, provided  I  am  supplied  with  men,  etc.,  to  carry  it  into 
execution  without  loss  of  time." 

In  a  postscript  of  his  letter,  he  specifies  the  forces  requisite 
for  his  suggested  invasion.  "  In  order  to  give  satisfaction  to 
the  different  colonies,  I  propose  that  Colonel  Hinman's  regi- 
ment, now  on  their  march  from  Connecticut  to  Ticonderoga, 
should  form  part  of  the  army ;  say  one  thousand  men ;  five 
hundred  men  to  be  sent  from  New  York,  five  hundred  of  Gen- 
eral Arnold's  regiment,  including  the  seamen  and  marines  on 
board  the  vessels  (no  Green  Mountain  JBoys).^^ 

Within  a  few  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter.  Colonel  Hin- 
man  with  the  Connecticut  troops  arrived.  The  greater  part  of 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys  now  returned  home,  their  term  of 
enlistment  having  expired.  Ethan  Allen  and  his  brother  in 
arms,  Seth  Warner,  repaired  to  Congress  to  get  i)^j  for  their 
men,  and  authority  to  raise  a  new  regiment.  They  were  re- 
ceived with  distinguished  honor  by  that  body.  The  same  pay 
was  awarded  to  the  men  who  had  served  under  them  as  that 
allowed  to  the  continental  troops  ;  and  it  was  recommended  to 
the  Xew  York  Convention  that,  should  it  meet  the  approbation 
of  General  Schuyler,  a  fresh  corps  of  Green  Mountain  Boys 
about  to  be  raised,  should  be  employed  in  the  army  under  such 
officers  as  they  (the  Green  Mountain  Boys)  should  choose. 

To  the  Kew  York  Convention  Allen  and  Warner  now  re- 
paired. There  was  a  difficulty  about  admitting  them  to  the 
Hall  of  Assembly,  for  their  attainder  of  outlawry  had  not  been 
repealed.  Patriotism,  however,  pleaded  in  their  behalf.  They 
obtained  an  audience.  A  regiment  of  Gpeen  Mountain  Boys, 
five  hundred  strong,  was  decreed,  and  General  Schuyler  notified 
the  people  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  of  the  resolve,  and 
requested  them  to  raise  the  regiment. 

Thus  prosperously  went  the  affairs  of  Ethan  Allen  and  Seth 
Warner.  As  to  Arnold,  difficulties  instantly  took  place  between 
him  and  Colonel  Hinman.  Arnold  refused  to  give  up  to  him 
the  command  of  either  post,  claiming  on  the  strength  of  his 
instructions  from  the   committee   of  safety  of  Massachusetts,  a 


326  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

right  to  the  command  of  all  the  posts  and  fortresses  at  the 
south  end  of  Lake  Champlain  and  Lake  George.  This  threw 
everything  into  confusion.  Colonel  Hinman  was  himself  per- 
plexed in  this  conflict  of  various  authorities  ;  being,  as  it  were, 
but  a  locum  tenens  for  the  province  of  IS'ew  York. 

Arnold  was  at  Crown  Point,  acting  as  commander  of  the  fort 
and  admiral  of  the  fleet ;  and,  having  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
resolute  men  under  him,  was  expecting  with  confidence  to  be 
authorized  to  lead  an  expedition  into  Canada. 

At  this  juncture  arrived  a  committee  of  three  members  of 
the  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  sent  by  that  body  to  inquire 
into  the  manner  in  which  he  had  executed  his  instructions ; 
complaints  having  been  made  of  his  arrogance  and  undue  as- 
sumption of  command. 

Arnold  was  thunderstruck  at  being  subjected  to  inquiry, 
when  he  had  expected  an  ovation.  He  requested  a  sight  of  the 
committee's  instructions.  The  sight  of  them  only  increased 
his  indignation.  They  were  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  executed  his  commission  ;  with  his 
spirit,  capacity,  and  conduct.  Should  they  think  proper,  they 
might  order  him  to  return  to  Massachusetts,  to  render  account 
of  the  moneys,  ammunition,  and  stores  he  had  received,  and  the 
debts  he  had  contracted  on  behalf  of  the  colony.  While  at  Ti- 
conderoga,  he  and  his  men  were  to  be  under  command  of  the 
principal  officer  from  Connecticut. 

Arnold  was  furious.  He  swore  he  would  be  second  in  com- 
mand to  no  one,  disbanded  his  men,  and  threw  up  his  commis- 
sion. Quite  a  scene  ensued.  His  men  became  turbulent ; 
some  refused  to  serve  under  any  other  leader ;  others  clamored 
for  their  pay,  which  was  in  arrears.  Part  joined  Arnold  on 
board  of  the  vessels  which  were  drawn  out  into  the  lake  ;  and 
among  other  ebullitions  of  passion,  there  was  a  threat  of  sail- 
ing for  St.  John's. 

At  length  the  storm  was  allayed  by  the  interference  of 
several  of  the  officers,  and  the  assurances  of  the  committee  that 
every  man  should  be  paid.  A  part  of  them  enlisted  under 
Colonel  Easton,  and  Arnold  set  off  for  Cambridge  to  settle  his 
accounts  with  the  committee  of  safety. 

The  project  of  an  invasion  of  Canada,  urged  by  Allen  and 
Arnold,  had  at  first  met  with  no  favor,  the  Continental  Con- 
gress having  formally  resolved  to  make  no  hostile  attempts 
upon  that  province.  Intelligence  subsequently  received,  in- 
duced it  to  change  its  plans.  Carleton  was  said  .to  be  strength- 
ening the  fortifications  and  garrison  at  St.  John's,  and  prepar- 
ing to  launch  vessels  on  the  lake  wherewith  to  regain  command 


LIFE  OF  WASBINGTOm  327 

of  it,  and  retake  the  captured  post^.  Powerful  reinforcements 
were  coming  from  England  and  elsewhere.  Guy  Johnson  was 
holding  councils  with  the  fierce  Cayuga^  and  Senecas,  and  stir- 
ring up  the  Six  Nations  to  hostility.  On  the  other  hand, 
Canada  was  full  of  religious  and  political  dissensions.  The  late 
exploits  of  the  Americans  on  Lake  Champlain,  had  produced  a 
favorable  effect  on  the  Canadians,  who  would  flock  to  the 
patriot  standard  if  unfurled  among  them  by  an  imposing  force. 
Now  was  the  time  to  strike  a  blow  to  paralyze  all  hostility  from 
this  quarter ;  now,  while  Carleton's  regular  force  was  weak, 
and  before  the  arrival  of  additional  troops.  Influenced  by  these 
considerations.  Congress  now  determined  to  extend  the  Revolu- 
tion into  Canada,  but  it  was  an  enterprise  too  important  to  be 
intrusted  to  any  but  discreet  hands.  General  Schuyler,  then  in 
New  York,  was  accordingly  ordered,  on  the  27th  June,  to  pro- 
ceed to  Ticonderoga,  and,  "  should  he  find  it  practicable  and 
not  disagreeable  to  the  Canadians,  immediately  to  take  posses- 
sion of  St.  John's  and  Montreal,  and  pursue  such  other  meas- 
ures in  Canada  as  might  have  a  tendency  to  promote  the  peace 
and  security  of  these  provinces." 

It  behooved  General  Schuyler  to  be  on  the  alert,  lest  the  en- 
terprise should  be  snatched  from  his  hands.  Ethan  Allen  and 
Seth  Warner  were  at  Bennington,  among  the  Green  Moun- 
tains. Enlistments  were  going  on,  but  too  slow  for  Allen's 
impatience,  who  had  his  old  hankering  for  a  partisan  foray. 
In  a  letter  to  Governor  Trumbull  (July  12th),  he  writes, 
"  Were  it  not  that  the  grand  Continental  Congress  had  totally 
incorporated  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  into  a  battalion  under 
certain  regulations  and  command,  I  would  forthwith  advance 
them  into  Canada  and  invest  Montreal,  exclusive  of  any  help 
from  the  colonies  \  though  under  present  circumstances  I  would 
not,  for  my  right  arm,  act  without  or  contrary  to  order.  If  niy 
fo7id  zeal  for  reducing  the  hing^  s  fortresses  and  destroying  or 
imprisoning  his  troops  in  Canada  he  the  result  of  enthusiasm  ^ 
I  hope  and  expect  the  wisdom  of  the  continent  will  treat  it  as 
such ;  and  on  tlie  other  hand,  if  it  proceed  from  sound  policy, 
that  the  plan  will  be  adopted."  ^ 

Schuyler  arrived  at  Ticonderoga  on  the  18th  of  Julj-.  A 
letter  to  Washington,  to  whom,  as  commander-in-chief,  he  made 
constant  reports,  gives  a  striking  picture  of  a  frontier  post  in 
those  crude  days  of  the  Eevolution. 

"  You  will  expect  tliat  I  should  say  something  about  this 
place  and  the  troops  here.     Not  one  earthly  thing  for  oifense 

*  Force's  Am.  Archives,  ii.  1649 


328  LIFE  OF  WASntNGTON. 

or  defense  has  been  done  ;  the  commanding  officer  has  no 
orders ;  he  only  came  to  reinforce  the  garrisoyi,  and  he  ex- 
pected the  general.  About  ten  last  night  I  arrived  at  the 
landing-place,  at  the  north  eiid  of  Lake  George  ;  a  post  occupied 
by  a  captain  and  one  hundred  men.  A  sentinel,  on  being  in- 
formed that  I  was  in  the  boat,  quitted  his  post  to  go  and 
awaken  the  guard,  consisting  of  three  men,  in  which  he  had 
no  success.  I  walked  up  and  came  to  another,  a  sergeant's 
guard.  Here  the  sentinel  challenged,  but  suffered  me  to  come 
up  to  him ;  the  whole  guard,  like  the  first,  in  the  soundest 
sleep.  With  a  penknife  only  I  could  have  cut  off  both  guards, 
and  then  have  set  fire  to  the  block-house,  destroj'^ed  the  stores, 
and  starved  the  people  here.  At  this  post  I  had  pointedly 
recommended  vigilance  and  care,  as  all  the  stores  from  Lake 
George  must  necessarily  be  landed  here.  But  I  hope  to  get 
the  better  of  this  inattention.  The  officers  and  men  are  all 
good-looking  people,  and  decent  in  their  deportment,  and  I 
really  believe  will  make  good  soldiers  as  soon  as  I  can  get  the 
better  of  this  nonchalance  of  theirs.  Bravery,  I  believe,  they 
are  far  from  wanting." 

Colonel  Hinman,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  in  temporan 
command  at  Ticonderoga,  if  that  could  be  called  a  command 
where  none  seemed  to  obey.  The  garrison  was  about  twelve 
hundred  strong :  the  greater  part  Connecticut  men  brought  by 
himself;  some  were  New  York  troops,  and  some  few  Green 
Mountain  Boys.  Schuyler,  on  taking  command,  despatched  a 
confidential  agent  into  Canada,  Major  John  Brown,  an  Amer- 
ican, who  resided  at  the  Sorel  River,  and  was  popular  among 
the  Canadians.  He  was  to  collect  information  as  to  the  British 
forces  and  fortifications,  and  to  ascertain  how  an  invasion  and 
an  attack  on  St.  John's  would  be  considered  by  the  people  of 
the  province  :  in  the  meantime,  Schuyler  set  diligently  to  work 
to  build  boats  and  prepare  for  the  enterprise,  should  it  ulti- 
mately be  ordered  by  Congress. 

Schuyler  was  an  authoritative  man,  and  inherited  from  his 
Dutch  ancestry  a  great  love  of  order ;  he  was  excessively  an- 
noj^ed,  therefore,  by  the  confusion  and  negligence  prevalent 
arouild  him,  and  the  difficulties  and  delays  thereby  occasioned. 
He  chafed  in  spirit  at  the  disregard  of  discipline  among  his 
yeoman  soldiery,  and  tkeir  opposition  to  all  system  and  regu- 
larity. This  was  especially  the  case  with  the  troops  from  Con- 
necticut, officered  generally  by  their  own  neighbors  and  familiar 
companions,  and  unwilling  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  a 
commander  from  a  different  province.  He  poured  out  his 
complaints  in  a  friendly  letter  to  Washington  5  the  latter  con« 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  329 

soled  him  by  stating  his  own  troubles  and  grievances  in  the 
camp  at  Cambridge,  and  the  spirit  with  which  he  coped  with 
them.  "  From  my  own  experience,"  writes  he  (July  28),  "  I 
can  easily  judge  of  your  difficulties  in  introducing  order  and 
discipline  into  troops,  who  have,  from  their  infancy,  imbibed 
ideas  of  the  most  contrary  kind.  It  would  be  far  beyond  the 
compass  of  a  letter,  for  me  to  describe  the  situation  of  things 
here  [at  Cambridge],  on  my  arrival.  Perhaps  you  will  only  be 
able  to  judge  of  it,  from  my  assuring  you,  that  mine  must  be  a 
portrait  at  full  length  of  what  you  have  had  in  miniature.  Con- 
fusion and  discord  reigned  in  every  department,  which,  in  a 
little,  time,  must  have  ended  either  in  the  separation  of  the 
army,  or  fctril  contests  with  one  another.  The  better  genius 
of  America  h.is  prevailed,  and,  most  happily,  the  ministerial 
troops  have   not  availed  themselves   of  these  advantages,  till,  I 

trust,  the  opportunity  is  in  a  great  measure  passed  over 

We  mend  every  day,  and,  I  flatter  myself,  that  in  a  little  time 
we  shall  work  up  these  raw  materials  into  a  good  manufacture. 
I  must  recommend  to  you,  what  I  endeavor  to  practice  myself, 
patience  and  perseverance." 

Schuyler  took  the  friendly  admonition  in  the  spirit  in  which 
it  was  given.  "  I  can  easily  bonceive,"  writes  he  (Aug.  6th), 
"  that  my  difficulties  are  only  a  faint  semblance  of  yours. 
Yes,  my  general,  I  will  strive  to  copy  your  bright  example, 
and  patiently  and  steadily  persevere  in  that  line  which  only  can 
promise  the  wished-for  reformation." 

He  had  calculated  on  being  joined  by  this  time  by  the  regi- 
ment of  G-reen  Mountain  Boys  which  Ethan  Allen  and  Seth 
Warner  had  undertaken  to  raise  in  the  Kew  Hampshire  Grants. 
Unfortunately,  a  quarrel  had  arisen  between  those  brothers  in 
arms,  which  filled  tbe  Green  Mountains  with  discord  and  party 
feuds.  The  election  of  officers  took  place  on  the  27th  of  July. 
It  was  made  by  committees  from  the  different  townships. 
Ethan  Allen  was  entirely  passed  by,  and  Seth  Warner  nomi- 
nated as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regiment.  Allen  was  thunder- 
struck at  finding  himself  thus  suddenly  dismounted.  His 
patriotism  and  love  of  adventure,  however,  were  not  quelled ; 
and  he  forthwith  repaired  to  the  army  at  Ticonderoga  to  offer 
himself  as  a  volunteer. 

Schuyler,  at  first,  hesitated  to  accept  his  services.  He  was 
aware  of  his  aspiring  notions,  and  feared  there  would  be  a 
difficulty  in  keeping  him  within  due  bounds,  but  was  at  length 
persuaded  by  his  officers  to  retain  him  to  act  as  a  pioneer  on 
the  Canadian  frontier. 

In  a  letter  from  camp,  Allen  gave  Governor  Trumbull  an  ao 


330  J^JF'J^  OF  WASHINGTON. 

count  of  the  downfall  of  Lis  towering  hopes.  "  jSTotwithstand* 
ing  my  zeal  and  success  in  my  country's  cause,  the  old  farmers 
on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  who  do  not  incline  to  go  to 
war,  have  met  in  a  committee  meeting,  and  in  their  nomination 
of  officers  for  the  regiment  of  Green  Mountain  Boys,  have 
wholly  omitted  me." 

His  letter  has  a  consolatory  postscript.  "  I  find  myself  in 
the  favor  of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  the  young  Green 
Mountain  Boys.  How  the  old  men  came  to  reject  me  I  cannot 
conceive,  inasmuch  as  I  saved  them  from  the  encroachments  of 
New  York.'^  * — The  old  men  probably  doubted  his  discretion. 

Schuyler  was  on  the  alert  with  respect  to  the  expedition 
against  Canada.  From  his  agent.  Major  Brown,  and  from 
other  sources,  he  had  learnt  that  there  were  but  about  seven 
hundred  king's  troops  in  that  province ;  three  hundred  of  them 
at  St.  John's,  about  fifty  at  Quebec,  the  remainder  at  Montreal, 
Chamblee,  and  the  upper  posts.  Colonel  Guy  Johnson  was  at 
Montreal  with  three  hundred  men,  mostlj^  his  tenants,  and  with 
a  number  of  Indians.  Two  batteries  had  been  finished  at  St. 
John's,  mounting  nine  guns  each  :  other  works  were  intrenched 
and  picketed.  Two  large  row-galleys  were  on  the  stocks,  and 
would  soon  be  finished.  Now  was  the  time,  according  to  his 
informants,  to  carry  Canada.  It  might  be  done  with  great  ease 
and  little  cost.  The  Canadians  were  disaffected  to  British 
rule,  and  would  join  the  Americans,  and  so  would  many  of  the 
Indians. 

"  I  am  prepared,"  writes  he  to  Washington,  "  to  move  against 
the  enemy,  unless  your  Excellency  and  Congress  should  direct 
otherwise.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  I  expect  to  receive  the 
ultimate  determination.  Whatever  it  may  be,  I  shall  try  to 
execute  it  in  such  a  manner  as  will  promote  the  just  cause  in 
which  we  are  engaged." 

While  awaiting  orders  on  this  head  he  repaired  to  Albany  to 
hold  a  conference  and  negotiate  a  treaty  wdth  the  Caughnawagas 
and  the  warriors  of  the  Six  Nations,  whom,  as  one  of  the  com- 
missioners of  Indian  affairs,  he  had  invited  to  meet  him  at  that 
place.  General  Hichard  Montgomery  was  to  remain  in  com- 
mand at  Ticonderoga  during  his  absence,  and  to  urge  forward 
the  military  preparations.  As  tlie  i^ubsequent  fortunes  of  this 
gallant  officer  are  inseparably  connected  with  the  Canadian 
campaign,  and  have  endeared  his  name  to  Americans,  we  pause 
to  give  a  few  particulars  concerning  him.         _ 

General  Kichard  Montgomery  was  of  a  good  family  in  the 

*  Am,  Archives,  4th  Series,  ill.  1T» 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  S3l 

north  of  Ireland,  where  lie  was  horn  in  1736.  He  entered  the 
army  when  ahout  eighteen  years  of  age ;  served  in  America  in 
the  French  war  ;  won  a  lieutenancy  hy  gallant  conduct  at 
Louishurg  ;  followed  General  Amherst  to  Lake  Champlain,  and 
after  the  conquest  of  Canada  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  for 
his  services  in  the  West  Indies. 

After  the  peace  of  Versailles  he  resided  in  England;  hut, 
ahout  three  years  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  he 
sold  out  his  commission  in  the  army  and  emigrated  to  New 
York.  Here  he  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Judge  Robert 
R.  Livingston,  of  the  Clermont  branch  of  that  family,  and  took 
up  his  residence  on  an  estate  which  he  had  purchased  in  Dutchess 
County,  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson. 

Being  known  to  be  in  favor  of  the  popular  cause,  he  was 
drawn  reluctantly  from  his  rural  abode  to  represent  his  county 
in  the  first  convention  of  the  province  ;  and  on  the  recent  or- 
ganization of  the  army  his  military  reputation  gained  him  the 
unsought  commission  of  brigadier-general.  "  It  is  an  event," 
writes  he  to  a  friend,  "  which  must  put  an  end  for  a  while, 
perhaps  forever,  to  the  quiet  scheme  of  life  I  had  prescribed 
for  myself ;  for,  though  entirely  unexpected  and  undesired  by 
me,  the  will  of  an  oppressed  people,  compelled  to  choose  between 
liberty  and  slavery,  must  be  obeyed." 

At  the  time  of  receiving  his  commission  Montgomery  was 
about  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  and  the  heau  ideal  of  a  soldier. 
His  form  was  well-proportioned  and  vigorous  ;  his  countenance 
expressive  and  prepossessing ;  he  was  cool  and  discriminating 
in  council,  energetic  and  fearless  in  action.  His  principles 
commanded  the  respect  of  friends  and  foes,  and  he  was  noted 
for  winning  the  affections  of  the  soldiery. 

While  these  things  were  occurring  at  Ticonderoga,  several 
Indian  chiefs  made  their  appearance  in  the  camp  at  Cambridge. 
They  came  in  savage  state  and  costume,  as  ambassadors  from 
their  respective  tribes,  to  have  a  talk  about  the  impending  in- 
vasion of  Canada.  One  was  chief  of  the  Caughnawaga  tribe, 
whose  residence  was  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  six 
miles  above  Montreal.  Others  were  from  St.  Francis,  about 
forty-five  leagues  above  Quebec,  and  were  of  a  warlike  tribe, 
from  which  hostilities  had  been  especially  apprehended. 

Washington,  accustomed  to  deal  with  the  red  warriors  of  the 
wilderness,  received  them  with  great  ceremonial.  They  dined 
at  headquarters  among  his  officers,  and  it  is  observed  that  to 
some  of  the  latter  they  might  have  served  as  models,  such  was 
their  grave  dignity  and  decorum. 

A  council-lire  was  held.     The  sachems  all  offered,  on  behalJ^ 


332  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

of  their  tribes,  to  take  up  the  hatchet  for  the  Americans  should 
the  latter  invade  Canada.  The  offer  was  embarrassing.  Con- 
gress had  publicly  resolved  to  seek  nothing  but  neutrality  from 
the  Indian  nations,  unless  the  ministerial  agents  should  make 
an  offensive  alliance  with  them.  The  chief  of  the  St.  Francis 
tribe  declared  that  Governor  Carleton  had  endeavored  to  per- 
suade him  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  Americans,  but  in 
vain.  "  As  our  ancestors  gave  this  country  to  you,"  added  he 
grandly,  "  we  would  not  have  you  destroyed  by  England ;  but 
are  ready  to  afford  you  our  assistance." 

Washington  wished  to  be  certain  of  the  conduct  of  the  ene- 
my, before  he  gave  a  reply  to  these  Indian  overtures.  He 
wrote  by  express,  therefore,  to  General  Schuyler,  requesting 
him  to  ascertain  the  intentions  of  the  British  governor  with 
respect  to  the  native  tribes. 

By  the  same  express,  he  communicated  a  plan  which  had  oc- 
cupied his  thoughts  for  several  days.  As  the  contemplated 
movement  of  Schuyler  would  probably  cause  all  the  British 
force  in  Canada  to  be  concentrated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mont- 
real and  St.  John's,  he  proposed  to  send  oS  an  expedition  of 
ten  or  twelve  hundred  men,  to  penetrate  to  Quebec  by  the  way 
of  the  Kennebec  Biver.  "  If  you  are  resolved  to  proceed," 
writes  he  to  Schuyler,  "  which  I  gather  from  your  last  letter  is 
your  intention,  it  would  make  a  diversion  that  would  distract 
Carleton.  He  must  either  break  up,  and  follow  this  party  to 
Quebec,  by  which  he  would  leave  you  a  free  passage,  or  he  must 
suffer  that  important  place  to  fall  into  other  hands — an  event 
that  would  have  a  decisive  effect  and  influence  on  the  public  in- 
terest  The  few  whom  I   have   consulted   on  the 

project  approve  it  much,  but  the  final  determination  is  deferred 
until  I  hear  from  you.  Not  a  moment's  time  is  to  be  lost  in 
the  preparations  for  this  enterprise,  if  the  advices  from  you 
favor  it.  With  the  utmost  expedition  the  season  will  be  con- 
siderably advanced,  so  that  you  will  dismiss  the  express  as  soon 
as  possible." 

The  express  found  Schuyler  in  Albany,  where  he  had  been 
attending  the  conference  with  the  Six  Nations.  He  had  just 
received  intelligence  which  convinced  him  of  the  propriety  of 
an  expedition  into  Canada ;  had  sent  word  to  General  Montgom- 
ery to  get  everything  ready  for  it,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
departing  for  Ticonderoga  to  carry  it  into  effect.  In  reply  to 
Washington,  he  declared  his  conviction,  from  various  accounts 
which  he  had  received,  that  Carleton  and  his  agents  were  ex- 
citing the  Indian  tribes  to  hostility.  "  I  should,  therefore,  not 
hesitate  one  moment,"  adds  he,  "to  employ  any  savages  that 
might  be  willing  to  join  us." 


LIFE  OF  WASTnNGTOJSTo  333 

He  expressed  himself  delighted  with  Washington's  project  of 
sending  off  an  expedition  to  Quebec,  regretting  only  that  it  had 
not  been  thought  of  earlier.  "  Should  the  detachment  from 
your  body  penetrate  into  Canada,"  added  he,  "  and  we  meet 
with  success,  Canada  must  inevitably  fall  into  our  hands." 

Having  sent  off  these  despatches,  Schuyler  hastened  back  to 
Ticonderoga.  Before  he  reached  there,  Montgomery  had  re- 
ceived intelligence  that  Carleton  had  completed  his  armed 
vessels  at  St.  John's,  and  was  about  to  send  them  into  Lake 
Champlain  by  the  Sorel  River.  No  time,  therefore,  was  to  be 
lost  in  getting  possession  of  the  Isle  Aux  Noix,  which  com- 
manded the  entrance  to  that  river.  Montgomery  hastened, 
therefore,  to  embark  with  about  a  thousand  men,  which  were 
as  many  as  the  boats  now  ready  could  hold,  taking  with  him 
two  pieces  of  artillery ;  with  this  force  he  set  olf  down  the 
lake.  A  letter  to  G-eneral  Schuyler  explained  the  cause  of  his 
sudden  departure,  and  entreated  him  to  follow  on,  in  a  whale- 
boat,  leaving  the  residue  of  the  artillery  to  come  on  as  soon  as 
conveyances  could  be  procured. 

Schuyler  arrived  at  Ticonderoga  on  the  night  of  the  30th  of 
August,  but  too  ill  of  a  bilious  fever  to  push  on  in  a  whaleboat. 
He  caused,  however,  a  bed  to  be  prepared  for  him  in  a  covered 
bateau,  and,  ill  as  he  was,  continued  forward  on  the  following 
day.  On  the  4th  of  September  he  overtook  Montgomery  at 
the  Isle  la  Motte,  where  he  had  been  detained  by  contrary 
weather,  and,  assuming  command  of  the  little  army,  kept  on  the 
same  day  to  the  Isle  Aux  Noix,  about  twelve  miles  south  of 
St.  John's — where  for  the  present  we  shall  leave  him,  and  re- 
turn to  the  head-quarters  of  the  commander-in-chief. 


334  i^IFE  OF  WASHIJStGTOir, 


CHAPTER  XL VII. 

A   CHALLENGE  DECLINED. A  BLOW  MEDITATED. A    CAUTIOUS 

COUNCIL     OF     WAR. PREPARATION     FOR     THE     QUEBEC     EX- 
PEDITION.  BENEDICT  ARNOLD   .THE    LEADER. ADVICE    AND 

INSTRUCTIONS. DEPARTURE. GENERAL    SCHUYLER    ON  THE 

SOREL. RECONNOITERS     ST.    JOHN's. CAMP     AT     ISLE     AUX 

NOIX. ILLNESS  OF  SCHUYLER. RETURNS  TO    TICONDEROGA. 

EXPEDITION       OF      MONTGOMERY     AGAINST     ST.     JOHN's . 

LETTER    OF    ETHAN  ALLEN. HIS    DASH  AGAINST    MONTREAL. 

ITS  CATASTROPHE. A  HERO  IN  IRONS. CORRESPONDENCE 

OF     WASHINGTON     WITH     SCHUYLER     AND     ARNOLD. HIS 

ANXIETY   ABOUT   THEM. 

The  siege  of  Boston  had  been  kept  up  for  several  weeks 
without  any  remarkable  occurrence.  The  British  remained 
within  their  lines,  diligently  strengthening  them ;  the  besiegers 
having  received  further  supplies  of  ammunition,  were  growing 
impatient  of  a  state  of  inactivit}'-.  Towards  the  latter  part  of 
August  there  were  rumors  from  Boston,  that  the  enemy  were 
preparing  for  a  sortie.  Washington  was  resolved  to  provoke  it 
by  a  kind  of  challenge.  He  accordingly  detached  fourteen 
hundred  men  to  seize  at  night  upon  a  height  within  musket-shot 
of  the  enemy's  line  on  Charlestown  Neck,  presuming  that  the 
latter  would  sally  forth  on  the  following  day  to  dispute  pos- 
session of  it,  and  thus  be  drawn  into  a  general  battle.  The 
task  was  executed  with  silence  and  celerity,  and  by  daybreak 
the  hill  presented  to  the  astonished  foe  the  aspect  of  a  fortified 
post 

The  challenge  was  not  accepted.  The  British  opened  a  heavy 
cannonade  from  Bunker's  Hill,  but  kept  within  their  works. 
The  Americans,  scant  of  ammunition,  could  only  reply  with  a 
single  nine-pounder;  this,  however,  sank  one  of  the  floating 
batteries  which  guarded  the  Neck.  They  went  on  to  comjjlete 
and  strengthen  this  advanced  post,  exposed  to  daily  cannonade 
and  bombardment,  which,  however,  did  but  little  injury.  They 
continued  to  answer  from  time  to  time  with  a  single  gun  5  re- 
serving their  ammunition  for  a  general  action.  "  We  are  just  in 
the  situation  of  a  man  with  little  money  in  his  pocket,"  writes 
Secretary  Reed  J  "he  will  do  twenty  mean  things  to  prevent 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  335 

liis  breaking  in  upon  his  little  stock.  We  are  obliged  to  bear 
with  the  rascals  on  Bunker's  Hill,  when  a  few  shot  now  and 
then  in  return  would  keep  our  men  attentive  to  their  business 
and  give  the  enemy  alarms."  * 

The  evident  unwillingness  of  the  latter  to  come  forth  was 
perplexing.  "  Unless  the  ministerial  troops  in  Boston  are 
waiting  for  reinforcements/'  writes  Washington,  "  I  cannot  de- 
vise what  they  are  staying  there  for,  nor  why,  as  they  affect  to 
despise  the  Americans,  they  do  not  come  forth  and  put  an  end 
to  the  contest  at  once." 

Perhaps  they  persuaded  themselves  that  his  army,  composed 
of  crude,  half-disciplined  levies  from  different  and  distant 
quarters,  would  gradually  fall  asunder  and  disperse,  or  that  its 
means  of  subsistence  would  be  exhausted.  He  had  his  own 
fears  on  the  subject,  and  looked  forward  with  doubt  and  anxiety 
to  a  winter's  campaign ;  the  heavy  expense  that  would  be  in- 
curred in  providing  barracks,  fuel,  and  warm  clothing  ;  the  dif- 
ficulty there  would  be  of  keeping  together,  through  the  rigor- 
ous season,  troops  unaccustomed  to  military  hardships,  and 
none  of  whose  terms  of  enlistment  extended  beyond  the 
first  of  January :  the  supplies  of  ammunition,  too,  that  would 
be  required  for  protracted  operations;  the  stock  ©f  powder  on 
hand,  notwithstanding  the  most  careful  husbandry,  being  fear- 
fully small.  Revolving  these  circumstances  in  his  mind,  he 
rode  thoughtfully  about  the  commanding  points  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston,  considering  how  he  might  strike  a  decisive  blow  that 
would  put  an  end  to  the  murmuring  inactivity  of  the  army,  and 
relieve  the  country  from  the  consuming  expense  of  maintain- 
ing it.  The  result  was,  a  letter  to  the  major  and  brigadier- 
generals,  summoning  them  to  a  council  of  war  to  be  held  at  the 
distance  of  three  days,  and  giving  them  previous  intimation  of 
its  purpose.  It  was  to  know  whether,  in  their  judgment,  a 
successful  attack  might  not  be  made  upon  the  troops  at  Boston 
by  means  of  boats,  in  cooperation  with  an  attempt  upon  their- 
lines  at  lloxbury.  '^  The  success  of  such  an  enterprise,"  adds 
he,  "  depends,  I  well  know,  upon  the  All  wise  Disposer  of  events, 
and  it  is  not  within  the  reach  of  human  wisdom  to  foretell  the 
issue  ;  but  if  the  prospect  is  fair,  the  undertaking  is  justifiable." 

He  proceeded  to  state  the  considerations  alread}^  cited,  which 
appeared  to  justify  it.  The  council  having  thus  had  time  for 
previous  deliberation,  met  on  the  11th  of  September.  It  was 
composed  of  Major-generals  Ward,  Lee,  and  Putnam,  and 
Brigadier-generals    Thomas,    Heath,    Sullivan,    Spencer,   and 

*  Life  of  Beed,  vol.  i.  119, 


336  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Greene.     They  unanimously  pronounced  the  suggested  attempt 
inexpedient,  at  least  for  the  present. 

It  certainly  was  bold  and  hazardous,  yet  it  seems  to  have 
taken  strong  hold  on  the  mind  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
usually  so  cautious.  ^'  I  cannot  say,"  Avrites  he  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  Congress,  ''  that  I  have  wholly  laid  it  aside  ;  but  new 
events  may  occasion  new  measures.  Of  this  I  hope  the  honor- 
able Congress  can  need  no  assurance,  that  there  is  not  a  man  in 
America  who  more  earnestly  wishes  such  a  termination  of  the 
campaign,  as  to  make  the  army  no  longer  necessary." 

In  the  meantime,  as  it  was  evident  the  enemy  did  not  intend 
to  come  out,  but  were  only  strengthening  their  defenses,  and 
preparing  for  winter,  Washington  was  enabled  to  turn  his  at- 
tention to  the  expedition  to  be  sent  into  Canada  by  the  way  of 
the  Kennebec  Kiver. 

A  detachment  of  about  eleven  hundred  men,  chosen  for  the 
purpose,  was  soon  encamped  on  Cambridge  Common.  There 
were  ten  companies  of  New  England  infantry,  some  of  them  from 
General  Greene's  Hhode  Island  E-egiments ;  three  rifle  com- 
panies from  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  one  of  them  Captain 
David  Morgan's  famous  company ;  and  a  number  of  volunteers, 
among  whom  was  Aaron  Burr,  then  but  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
just  commencing  his  varied,  brilliant,  but  ultimately  unfortu- 
nate career. 

The  proposed  expedition  was  wild  and  perilous,  and  required 
a  hardy,  skillful,  and  intrepid  leader.  Such  a  one  was  at  hand. 
Benedict  Arnold  was  at  Cambridge,  occupied  in  settling  his 
accounts  with  the'  Massachusetts  committee  of  safety.  These 
were  nearly  adjusted.  Whatever  faults  may  have  been  found 
with  his  conduct  in  some  particulars,  his  exploits  on  Lake 
Champlain  had  atoned  for  them ;  for  valor,  in  time  of  war, 
covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  It  was  thought,  too,  by  some,  that 
he  had  been  treated  harshly,  and  there  was  a  disposition  to 
soothe  his  irritated  pride.  Washington  had  given  him  an 
honorable  reception  at  head-quarters,  and  now  considered  him 
the  very  man  for  the  present  enterprise.  He  had  shown  apt- 
ness for  military  service,  whether  on  land  or  water.  He  was 
acquainted,  too,  with  Canada,  and  especially  with  Quebec,  hav- 
ing, in  the  course  of  his  checkered  life,  traded  in  horses  between 
that  place  and  the  West  Indies.  With  these  considerations  he 
intrusted  him  with  the  command  of  the  expedition,  giving  him 
the  commission  of  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  continental  army. 

As  he  would  be  intrusted  with  dangerous  powers,  Washing- 
ton, besides  a  general  letter  of  instructions,  addressed  a  special 
one  to  him  individually,  full  of  cautious  and  considerate  advice. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  337 

^^  Upon  your  conduct  and  courage,  and  tliat  of  the  officers  and 
soldiers  detailed  on  this  expedition,  not  only  the  success  of  the 
present  enterprise,  and  your  own  honor,  but  the  safety  and  wel- 
fare of  the  whole  continent,  may  depend.  I  charge  you,  there- 
fore, and  the  officers  and  soldiers  under  your  command,  as  you 
value  your  own  safety  and  honor,  and  the  favor  and  esteem  of 
youT  country,  that  you  consider  yourselves  as  marching,  not 
tlu-aigh  the  country  of  an  enemy,  but  of  our  friends  and  breth- 
ren ;  for  such  the  inhabitants  of  Canada  and  the  Indian  nations 
have  approved  themselves,  in  this  unhappy  contest  between 
Great  Britain  and  America;  and  that  you  check  by  every 
moti\'e  of  duty  and  fear  of  punishment  every  attempt  to  plunder 
or  insult  the  inhabitants  of  Canada.  Should  any  American 
soldier  be  so  base  and  infamous  as  to  injure  any  Canadian  or 
Indian  in  his  person  or  property,  I  do  most  earnestly  enjoin  you 
to  bring  him  to  such  severe  and  exemplary  punishment  as  the 
enormity  of  the  crime  may  require.  Should  it  extend  to  death 
itself,  it  will  not  be  disproportioned  to  its  guilt  at  such  a  time 

and  in  such  a  cause I  also  give   in  charge  to 

you,  to  avoid  all  disrespect  to  the  religion  of  the   country  and 

its  ceremonies While  we  are  contending  for 

our  own  liberty,  we  should  be  very  cautious  not  to  violate  the 
rights  of  conscience  in  others,  ever  considering  that  God  alone 
is  the  judge  of  the  hearts  of  men,  and  to  him  only,  in  this  case, 
are  they  answerable." 

In  the  general  letter  of  instructions,  Washington  inserted 
the  following  clause :  "  If  Lord  Chatham's  son  should  be  in 
Canada,  and  in  any  way  fall  into  your  power,  you  are  enjoined 
to  treat  him  with  all  possible  deference  and  respect.  You  can- 
not err  in  paying  too  much  honor  to  the  son  of  so  illustrious  a 
character,  and  so  true  a  friend  to  America. 

Arnold  was,  moreover,  furnished  with  hand-bills  for  distribu- 
tion in  Canada,  setting  forth  the  friendly  objects  of  the  present 
expedition,  as  well  as  of  that  under  General  Schuyler ;  and  call- 
ing on  the  Canadians  to  furnish  necessaries  and  accommodations 
of  every  kind ;  for  which  they  were  assured  ample  compensa- 
tion. 

On  the  13th  of  September  Arnold  struck  his  tents,  and  set 
out  in  high  spirits.  More  fortunate  than  his  rival,  Ethan  Allen, 
he  had  attained  the  object  of  his  ambition,  the  command  of  an 
expedition  into  Canada  ;  and  trusted,  in  the  capture  of  Quebec, 
to  eclipse  even  the  surprise  of  Ticonderoga. 

Washington  enjoined  upon  him  to  push  forward  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  success  depending  upon  celerity  ;  and  counted  the 
days  as  they  elapsed  after  his  departure,  impatient  to  receive 


338  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tidings  of  his  progress  uj)  the  Kennebec,  and  expecting  that 
the  expedition  would  reach  Quebec  about  the  middle  of  October. 
In  the  interim  came  letters  from  General  Schuyler,  giving  par- 
ticulars of  the  main  expedition. 

In  a  preceding  chapter  we  left  the  general  and  his  little  army 
at  the  Isle  Aux  Noix,  near  the  Sorel  River,  the  outlet  of  the 
lake.  Thence,  on  the  5th  of  September,  he  sent  Colonel  Ethan 
Allen  and  Major  Brown  to  reconnoiter  the  country  between 
that  river  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  distribute  friendly  ad- 
dresses among  the  people  and  ascertain  their  feelings.  This 
done,  and  having  landed  his  baggage  and  provisions,  the  gereral 
proceeded  along  the  Sorel  River  the  next  day  with  his  boats, 
until  within  two  miles  of  St.  John's,  when  a  cannonade  was 
opened  from  the  fort.  Keeping  on  for  half  a  mile  further,  he 
landed  his  troops  in  a  deep,  close  swamp,  where  they  had  a 
sharp  skirmish  with  an  ambuscade  of  tories  and  Indians,  whom 
they  beat  off  with  some  loss  on  both  sides.  Night  coming  on, 
they  cast  up  a  small  intrenchment,  and  encamped,  disturbed 
occasionally  by  shells  from  the  fort,  which,  however,  did  no 
other  mischief  than  slightly  wounding  a  lieutenant. 

In  the  night  the  camp  was  visited  secretly  by  a  person  who 
informed  General  Schuyler  of  the  state  of  the  fort.  The  works 
were  completed,  and  furnished  with  cannon.  A  vessel  pierced 
for  sixteen  guns  was  launched,  and  would  be  ready  to  sail  in 
three  or  four  days.  It  was  not  probable  that  any  Canadians 
would  join  the  army,  being  disposed  to  remain  neutral.  This 
intelligence  being  discussed  in  a  council  of  war  in  the  morning, 
it  was  determined  that  they  had  neither  men  nor  artillery  suffi- 
cient to  undertake  a  siege.  They  returned,  therefore,  to  the 
Isle  Aux  Noix,  cast  up  fortifications,  and  threw  a  boom  across 
the  channel  of  the  river  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  enemy's 
vessels  into  the  lake,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  artillery  and 
reinforcements  from  Ticonderoga. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  expected  reinforcements  ar- 
rived, and  with  them  a  small  train  of  artillery.  Ethan  Allen 
also  returned  from  his  reconnoitering  expedition,  of  which  he 
made  a  most  encouraging  report.  The  Canadian  captains  of 
militia  were  ready,  he  said,  to  join  the  Americans,  whenever, 
they  should  appear  with  sufficient  force.  He  had  held  talks, 
too,  with  the  Indians,  and  found  them  well  disposed.  In  a- 
word,  he  was  convinced  that  an  attack  on  St.  John's,  and  an  in- 
road into  the  province,  would  meet  with  hearty  cooperation.' 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  the  investment  of  St.  John's, 
by  land  and  water.  Major  Brown,  who  had  already  acted  as  ai 
scout,  was  sent  with  one  hundred  Americans,"  and  a.bout.thirty 


LIFE  OE  WASHINGTON.  339 

Canadians  towards  Chamblee,  to  make  friends  in  that  quarter, 
and  to  join  the  army  as  soon  as  it  should  arrive  at  St.  John's. 

To  quiet  the  restless  activity  of  Ethan  Allen,  who  had  no 
command  in  the  army,  he  was  sent  with  an  escort  of  thirty  men 
to  retrace  his  steps,  penetrate  to  La  Prairie,  and  beat  up  for 
recruits  among  the  people  whom  he  had  recently  visited. 

For  some  time  past,  General  Schuyler  had  been  struggling 
with  a  complication  of  maladies,  but  exerting  himself  to  the  ut- 
most in  the  harassing  business  of  the  camp,  still  hoping 
to  be  able  to  move  with  the  army.  When  everj^thing  was  nearly, 
ready  he  was  attacked  in  the  night  by  a  severe  access  of 
his  disorder,  which  confined  him  to  his  bed,  and  compelled  him 
to  surrender  the  conduct  of  the  expedition  to  General  Mont- 
gomery. Since  he  could  be  of  no  further  use,  therefore,  in  this 
quarter,  he  caused  his  bed,  as  before,  to  be  placed  on  board  a 
covered  bateau,  and  set  off  for  Ticonderoga,  to  hasten  forward 
reinforcements  and  supplies.  An  hour  after  his  departure,  he 
met  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  steering  for  the  camp,  ''  being  the  first,"  adds 
he,  "  that  have  appeared  of  that  boasted  corps."  Some  had 
mutinied  and  deserted  the  colonel,  and  the  remainder  were  at 
Crown  Point ;  whence  they  were  about  to  embark. 

Such  was  the  purport  of  different  letters  received  from  Schuy- 
ler ,  the  last  bearing  date  September  20th.  Washington  was 
deeply  concerned  when  informed  that  he  had  quitted  the  army, 
supposing  that  General  Wooster,  as  the  eldest  brigadier,  would 
take  rank  and  command  of  Montgomery,  and  considering  him 
deficient  in  the  activity  and  energy  required  by  the  difficult 
service  in  which  he  was  engaged.  "  I  am,  therefore,"  writes  he 
to  Schuyler,  "much  alarmed  for  Arnold,  whose  expedition  was 
built  upon  yours,  and  who  will  infallibly  perish,  if  the  invasion 
and  entry  into  Canada  are  abandoned  by  your  successor.  I 
hope  by  this  time  the  penetration  into  Canada  by  your  army 
is  effected ;  but  if  it  is  not,  and  there  are  any  intentions  to  lay 
it  aside,  I  beg  it  may  be  done  in  such  a  manner  that  Arnold 
may  be  saved,  by  giving  him  notice ,  and  in  the  meantime,  your 
army  may  keep  such  appearances  as  to  fix  Carleton,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  force  of  Canada  being  turned  wholly  upon  Arnold. 

"  Should  this  find  you  at  Albany,  and  General  Wooster 
•about  taking  the  command,  I  entreat  you  to  impress  him  strong- 
ly with  the  importance  and  necessity  of  proceeding,  or  so  to 
conduct,  that  Arnold  may  have  time  to  retreat." 

What  caused  this  immediate  solicitude  about  Arnold,  was 
a  letter  received  from  him,  dated  ten  days  previously  from  Fort 
Western,  on  the  Kennebec  River.     He  had  sent  reconnoitering 


340  LI^E  OF  WASBmOTOm 

parties  ahead  in  light  canoes,  to  gain  intelligence  from  the 
Indians,  and  take  the  courses  and  distances  to  Dead  River,  a 
branch  of  the  Kennebec,  and  he  was  now  forwarding  his  troops 
in  bateaux  in  five  divisions,  one  day's  march  apart ;  Morgan 
with  his  riflemen  in  the  first  division.  Lieutenant-colonel  Eoger 
Enos  commanding  the  last.  As  soon  as  the  last  division  should 
be  under  way,  Arnold  was  to  set  off  in  a  light  skiff  to  overtake 
the  advance.  Chaudiere  Pond,  on  the  Chaudiere  River,  was 
the  appointed  rendezvous,  whence  they  were  to  march  in  a  body 
towards  Quebec. 

Judging  from  the  date  of  the  letter,  Arnold  must  at  this  time 
be  making  his  way,  by  land  and  water,  through  an  uninhabited 
and  unexplored  wilderness ;  and  beyond  the  reach  of  recall ; 
his  situation,  therefore,  would  be  desperate  should  General 
Wooster  fail  to  follow  up  the  campaign  against  St.  John's. 
The  solicitude  of  Washington  on  his  account  was  heightened* 
by  the  consciousness  that  the  hazardous  enterprise  in  which 
he  was  engaged  had  chiefly  been  set  on  foot  by  himself,  and  he 
felt  in  some  degree  responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  resolute 
partisan  and  his  companions. 

Fortunately,  Wooster  was  not  the  successor  to  Schuyler  in 
the  command  of  the  expedition.  Washington  was  mistaken  as 
to  the  rank  of  his  commission,  which  was  one  degree  lower 
than  that  of  Montgomery.  The  veteran  himself,  who  was  a 
gallant  soldier,  and  had  seen  service  in  two  wars,  expressed  him- 
self nobly  in  the  matter,  in  reply  to  some  inquiry  made  by 
Schuyler.  "  I  have  the  cause  of  my  country  too  much  at  heart," 
said  he,  ^'  to  attempt  to  make  any  difficulty  or  uneasiness  in  the 
army,  upon  whom  the  success  of  an  enterprise  of  almost  infinite 
importance  to  the  country  is  now  depending.  I  shall  consider 
my  rank  in  the  army  what  my  commission  from  the  Continen- 
tal Congress  makes  it,  and  shall  not  attempt  to  dispute  the  com- 
mand with  General  Montgomery  at  St.  John's."  We  shall 
give  some  further  particulars  concerning  this  expedition  against 
St.  John's,  towards  which  Washington  was  turning  so  anxious 
an  eye. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  the  day  after  Schuyler's  departure 
for  Ticonderoga,  Montgomery  proceeded  to  carry  out  the  plans 
which  had  been  concerted  between  them.  Landing  on  the  ITtli 
at  the  place  where  they  had  formerly  encamped,  within  a  mile 
and  a  half  of  the  fort,  he  detached  a  force  of  five  hundred  men, 
among  whom  were  three  hundred  Green  Mountain  Boys  under 
Colonel  Seth  Warner,  to  take  a  position  at  the  junction  of  two 
roads  leading  to  Montreal  and  Chamblee,  so  as  to  intercept  re- 
lief from  those  points.     He  now  proceeded  to  invest  St.  John's. 


LIT^  OF  WASHmoTON.  341 

A  battery  was  erected  on  a  point  of  land  commanding  the  fort, 
the  ship-yards,  and  the  armed  schooner.  Another  was  thrown 
up  in  the  woods  on  the  east  side  of  the  fort,  at  six  hundred 
yards'  distance,  and  furnished  with  two  small  mortars.  All 
this  was  done  under  an  incessant  fire  from  the  enemy,  which, 
as  yet,  was  but  feebly  returned. 

St.  John's  had  a  garrison  of  five  or  six  hundred  regulars  and 
two  hundred  Canadian  militia.  Its  commander.  Major  Preston, 
made  a  brave  resistance.  Montgomery  had  not  proper  battering 
cannon  ;  his  mortars  were  defective  ;  his  artillerists  unpracticed, 
and  the  engineer  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  his  art.  The 
siege  went  on  slowly,  until  the  arrival  of  an  artiller}^  company 
under  Captain  Lamb,  expedited  from  Saratoga  by  G-eneral 
Schuyler.  Lamb,  who  was  an  able  officer,  immediately  bedded 
a  thirteen-inch  mortar,  and  commenced  a  fire  of  shot  and  shells 
upon  the  fort.  The  distance,  however,  was  too  great,  and  the 
positions  of  the  batteries  were  ill  chosen. 

A  flourishing  letter  was  received  by  the  general  from  Colonel 
Ethan  Allen,  giving  hope  of  further  reinforcement.  "I  am 
now,"  writes  he,  "  at  the  Parish  of  St.  Ours,  four  leagues  from 
Sorel  to  the  south.  I  have  two  hundred  and  fifty  Canadians 
under  arms.  As  I  march,  they  gather  fast.  You  may  rely  on 
it,  that  I  shall  join  you  in  about  three  days,  with  five  hundred 
or  more  Canadian  volunteers.  I  could  raise  one  or  two  thousand 
in  a  week's  time  ;  but  I  will  first  visit  the  army  with  a  less 
number,  and,  if  necessary,  go  again  recruiting.  Those  that 
used  to  be  enemies  to  our  cause,  come  cap  in  hand  to  me  ;  and 
I  swear  by  the  Lord,  I  can  raise  three  times  the  number  of  our 

army  in  Canada,  provided  you  continue  the  siege The 

eyes  of  all  America,  nay,  of  Europe,  are  or  will  be  on  the  econo- 
my of  this  army  and  the  consequences  attending  it."  ^ 

Allen  was  actually  on  his  way  toward  St.  John's,  when,  be- 
tween Longueil  and  La  Prairie,  he  met  Colonel  Brown  with 
his  party  of  Americans  and  Canadians.  A  conversation  took 
place  between  them.  Brown  assured  him  that  the  garrison  at 
Montreal  did  not  exceed  thirty  men,  and  might  easily  be  sur- 
prised. Allen's  partisan  spirit  was  instantly  excited.  Here 
was  a  chance  for  another  bold  stroke  equal  to  that  at  Ticon- 
deroga.  A  plan  was  forthwith  agreed  upon.  Allen  was  to  re- 
turn to  Longueil,  which  is  nearly  opposite  Montreal,  and  cross 
the  St.  Lawrence  in  canoes  in  the  night,  so  as  to  land  a  little 
below  the  town.  Brown,  with  two  hundred  men,  was  to 
cross  above,  and  Montreal  was  to  be  attacked  simultaneously 
at  opposite  points. 

*  Am.  Archives,  4th  Series,  iii.  754, 


M2  LIFE  OF  WASmnOTON. 

All  tills  was  arranged  and  put  in  action  without  the  consent 
or  knowledge  of  General  Montgomery  ;  Allen  was  again  the 
partisan  leader,  acting  from  individual  impulse.  His  later 
letter  also  to  General  Montgomery,  would  seem  to  have  par- 
taken pf  fanfaronade ;  for  the  whole  force  with  which  he  under- 
took his  part  of  this  inconsiderate  enterprise  was  thirty  Amer- 
icans and  eighty  Canadians.  With  these  he  crossed  the  river 
on  the  night  of  the  24th  of  September,  the  few  canoes  found 
at  Longueil  having  to  pass  to  and  fro  repeatedly,  before  his 
petty  force  could  be  landed.  Guards  were  stationed  on  the 
roads  to  prevent  any  one  passing  and  giving  the  alarm  in 
Montreal.  Day  dawned,  but  there  was  no  signal  of  Major 
Brown  having  performed  his  part  of  the  scheme.  The  enter- 
prise seems  to  have  been  as  ill  concerted  as  it  was  ill  advised. 
The  day  advanced,  but  still  no  signal ;  it  was  evident  Major 
Brown  had  not  crossed.  Allen  would  gladly  have  recrossed 
the  river,  but  it  was  too  late.  An  alarm  had  been  given  to  the 
town,  and  he  soon  found  himself  encountered  by  about  forty 
regular  soldiers,  and  a  hasty  levy  of  Canadians  and  Indians. 
A  smart  action  ensued  ;  most  of  Allen's  Canadian  recruits  gave 
way  and  fled,  a  number  of  Americans  were  slain,  and  he  at 
length  surrendered  to  the  British  officer,  Major  Campbell, 
being  promised  honorable  terms  for  himself  and  thirty-eight 
of  his  men,  who  remained  with  him,  seven  of  whom  were 
wounded.  The  prisoners  were  marched  into  the  town  and  de- 
livered over  to  General  Prescott,  the  commandant.  Their 
rough  appearance,  and  rude  equipments,  were  not  likely  to 
gain  them  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  military  tactician,  who  doubt- 
less considered  them  as  little  better  than  a  band  of  freebooters 
on  a  maraud.  Their  leader,  albeit  a  colonel,  must  have  seemed 
worthy  of  the  band;  for  Allen  was  arrayed  in  rough  frontier 
style — a  deer-skin  jacket,  a  vest  and  breeches  of  course  serge, 
worsted  stockings,  stout  shoes,  and  a  red  woolen  cap. 

We  give  Allen's  own  account  of  his  reception  by  the  British 
officer.  "  He  asked  me  my  name,  which  I  told  him.  He  then 
asked  me  whether  I  was  that  Colonel  Allen  who  took  Ticon- 
deroga.  I  told  him  I  was  the  very  man.  Then  he  shook 
his  cane  over  my  head,  calling  me  many  hard  names,  among 
which,  he  frequently  used  the  word  rebel,  and  put  himself  in  a 
great  rage."  * 

Ethan  Allen,  according  to  his  own  account,  answered  with 

becoming  spirit.     Indeed  he  gives  somewhat  of  a  melodramatic 

scene,  which  ended  by  his  being  sent  an  board  of  the  Gaspee 

schooner  of  war,  heavily  ironed,  to  be  transported  to  England 

*  Am.  Archives,  iii.  800. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  .  343 

for  trial ;  Prescott  giving  him  the  parting  assurance,  sealed 
with  an  emphatic  oath^  that  he  would  grace  a  halter  at  Ty- 
burn. 

Neither  Allen's  courage  nor  his  rhetorical  vein  deserted  him 
on  this  trying  occasion.  From  his  place  of  confinement  he  in- 
dited the  following  epistle  to  the  general : — 

"Honorable  Sir, — In  the  wheel  of  transitory  events  I  find 
myself  prisoner,  and  in  irons.  Probably  your  honor  has  cer- 
tain reasons  to  me  inconceivable,  though  I  challenge  an  instance 
of  this  sort  of  economy  of  the  Americans  during  the  late  w^ar 
to  any  officers  of  the  crown.  On  my  part,  I  have  to  assure 
your  honor,  that  when  I  had  the  command  and  took  Captain 
Delaplace  and  Lieutenant  Fulton,  with  the  garrison  of  Ticon- 
deroga,  I  treated  them  with  every  mark  of  friendship  and 
generosity,  the  evidence  of  which  is  notorious,  even  in  Canada. 
I  have  only  to  add,  that  I  expect  an  honorable  and  humane 
treatment,  as  an  officer  of  my  rank  and  merit  should  have,  and 
subscribe  myself  your  honor's  most  obedient  servant, 

Ethan  Allen." 

In  the  British  publication  from  which  we  cite  the  above,  the 
following  note  is  appended  to  the  letter,  probably  on  the 
authority  of  General  Prescott :  "  K.  B. — The  author  of  the 
above  letter  is  an  outlaw,  and  a  reward  is  offered  by  the  New 
York  Assembly  for  apprehending  him."  * 

The  reckless  dash  at  Montreal  was  viewed  with  concern  by 
the  American  commander.  "  I  am  apprehensive  of  disagree- 
able consequences  arising  from  Mr.  Allen's  imprudence,"  writes 
General  Schuyler.  "  I  always  dreaded  his  impatience  of  sub- 
ordination, and  it  was  not  until  after  a  solemn  promise  made 
me  in  the  presence  of  several  officers  that  he  would  demean 
himself  with  propriety,  that  I  would  permit  him  to  attend  the 
army ;  nor  would  I  have  consented  then,  had  not  his  solicita- 
tions been  backed  by  several  officers." 

The  conduct  of  Allen  was  also  severely  censured  by  Wash- 
ington. ^'  His  misfortune,"  said  he,  "  w411,  I  hope,  teach  a 
lesson  of  prudence  and  subordination  to  others  who  may  be 
ambitious  to  outshine  their  general  officers,  and,  regardless  of 
order  and  duty,  rush  into  enterprises  which  have  unfavorable 
effects  on  the  public,  and  are  destructive  to  themselves." 

Partisan  exploit  had,  in  fact,  inflated  the  vanity  and  bewil- 
dered the  imagination  of  Allen,  and  unfitted  him  for  regular  war^ 
fare.  Still  his  name  will  ever  be  a  favorite  one  with  his  coun- 
^  Remembrancer,  ii.  51, 


344  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

try  men.  Even  his  occasional  rhodomontade  will  be  tolerated 
with  a  good-humored  smile,  backed  as  it  was  by  deeds  of  daring 
courage ;  and  among  the  hardy  pioneers  of  our  Revolution 
whose  untutored  valor  gave  the  first  earnest  of  its  triumphs,  will 
be  remembered,  with  honor,  the  rough  Green  Mountain  par- 
tisan, who  seized  upon  the  "  Keys  of  Champlain." 

In  the  letters  of  Schuyler,  which  gave  Washington  accounts, 
from  time  to  time,  of  the  preceding  events,  were  sad  repinings 
at  his  own  illness,  and  the  multiplied  annoyances  which  beset 
him.  "  The  vexation  of  spirit  under  which  I  labor,"  writes  he, 
"  that  a  barbarous  complication  of  disorders  should  prevent  me 
from  reaping  those  laurels  for  which  I  have  unweariedly 
wrought  since  I  was  honored  with  this  command ;  the  anxiety 
I  have  suffered  since  my  arrival  here  (at  Ticonderoga),  lest  the 
army  should  starve,  occasioned  by  a  scandalous  want  of  sub- 
ordination and  inattention  to  my  orders,  in  some  of  the  officers 
that  I  left  to  command  at  the  different  posts  ;  the  vast  variety 
of  disagreeable  and  vexatious  incidents  that  almost  every  hour 
arise  in  some  department  or  other, — -not  only  retard  my  cure, 
but  have  put  me  considerably  back  for  some  days  past.  If  Job 
had  been  a  general  in  my  situation,  his  memory  had  not  been 
so  famous  for  patience.  But  the  glorious  end  we  have  in  view, 
and  which  I  have  confident  hope  will  be  attained,  will  atone 
for  all."  Washingtpn  replied  in  that  spirit  of  friendship  which 
existed  between  them.  "  You  do  me  justice  in  believing  that 
I  feel  the  utmost  anxiety  for  your  situation,  that  I  sympathize 
with  you  in  all  your  distresses,  and  shall  most  h,eartily  share  in 
the  joy  of  your  success.  My  anxiety  extends  itself  to  poor  Ar- 
nold, whose  fate  depends  upon  the  issue  of  your  campaign 

The  more  I  reflect  upon  the  importance  of  your  expedition, 
the  greater  is  my  concern,  lest  it  should  sink  under  insuperable 
difficulties.  I  look  upon  the  interests  and  salvation  of  our  bleed- 
ing country  in  a  great  degree  as  depending  jpon  your  suc- 
cess." 

Shortly  after  writing  the  above,  and  while  he  was  still  full 
of  solicitude  about  the  fate  of  Arnold,  he  received  a  despatch 
from  the  latter  dated  October  13th,  from  the  great  portage  or 
carrying-place  between  the  Kennebec  and  Dead  River. 

"  Your  Excellency,"  writes  Arnold,  ^'  may  possibly  think  we 
have  been  tardy  in  our  march,  as  we  have  gained  so  little ;  but 
when  you  consider  the  badness  and  weight  of  the  bateaux,  and 
large  quantities  of  provisions,  etc.,  we  have  been  obliged  to  force 
up  against  a  very  rapid  stream,  where  you  would  have  taken  the 
men  for  amphibious  animals,  as  they  were  a  great  part  of  the 
time  under  water :  add  to  this  the  great  fatigue  in  the  portage, 


iJFW  OF  WAsmncTon.  Si5 

you  will  think  I  have  pushed  the  men  as  fast  as  they  could 
possibly  bear." 

The  toils  of  the  expedition  up  the  Kennebec  River  had  in- 
deed been  excessive.  Part  of  the  men  of  each  division  managed 
the  boats — part  marched  along  the  banks.  Those  on  board  had 
to  labor  against  swift  currents  ;  to  unload  at  rapids ;  transport  the 
cargoes,  and  sometimes  the  boats  themselves,  for  some  distance 
on  their  shoulders,  and  then  to  reload.  They  were  days  in 
making  their  way  round  stupendous  cataracts ;  several  times 
their  boats  were  upset  and  filled  with  water,  to  the  loss  or 
damage  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions. 

Those  on  land  had  to  scramble  over  rocks  and  precipices,  to 
struggle  through  swamps  and  fenny  streams  ;  or  cut  their  way 
through  tangled  thickets,  which  reduced  their  clothes  to  rags. 
With  all  their  efforts,  their  progress  was  but  from  four  to  ten 
miles  a  day.  At  night  the  men  of  each  division  encamped 
together. 

By  the  time  they  arrived  at  the  place  whence  the  letter  was 
written,  fatigue,  swamp  fevers  and  desertion  had  reduced  their 
numbers  to  about  nine  hundred  and  fifty  effective  men.  Arnold, 
however,  wrote  in  good  heart.  "  The  last  division,"  said  he, 
"is  just  arrived;  three  divisions  are  over  the  first  carrying- 
place,  and  as  the  men  are  in  high  spirits,  I  make  no  doubt  of 
reaching  the  river  Chaudiere  in  eight  or  ten  days,  the  greatest 
difficulty  being,  I  hope,  already  past." 

He  had  some  days  previously  despatched  an  Indian,  whom  he 
considered  trusty,  with  a  letter  for  General  Schuyler,  apprising 
him  of  his  whereabouts,  but  as  yet  had  received  no  intelligence 
either  of,  or  from  the  general,  nor  did  he  expect  to  receive  any 
until  he  should  reach  Chaudiere  Pond.  There  he  calculated  to 
meet  the  return  of  his  express,  and  then  to  determine  his  plan 
of  operations. 


1^ 


345  LIFE  OP  WAsniNGTON. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

BRITISH    IN    BOSTON     SEND  OUT    CRUISERS DEPREDATIONS    OP 

CAPTAIN     WALLACE     ALONG    THE    COAST. TREASON    IN    THE 

CAMP. ARREST  OF  DR.  CHURCH. HIS    TRIAL    AND    FATE. — ■ 

CONFLAGRATION  OF  FALMOUTH. IRRITATION    THROUGHOUT 

THE  COUNTRY. FITTING  OUT  OF  VESSELS  OF  WAR. EMBARK- 
ATION OF  GENERAL  GAGE  FOR  ENGLAND. COMMITTEE  PROM 

CONGRESS. CONFERENCES        WITH       WASHINGTON. RESOLU- 
TIONS   OF    CONGRESS    TO    CARRY  ON     THE    WAR. RETURN    OP 

SECRETARY    REED  TO  PHILADELPHIA. 

While  the  two  expeditions  were  threatening  Canada  from 
different  quarters,  the  war  was  going  on  along  the  seaboard. 
The  British  in  Boston,  cut  off  from  supplies  by  land,  fitted  out 
small  armed  vessels  to  seek  them  along  the  coast  of  New  Eng- 
land." The  inhabitants  drove  their  cattle  into  the  interior,  or 
boldly  resisted  the  aggressors.  Parties  landing  to  forage  were 
often  repulsed  by  hasty  levies  of  the  yeomanry.  Scenes  of 
ravage  and  violence  occurred.  Stonington  was  cannonaded, 
and  further  measures  of  vengeance  were  threatened  by  Captain 
Wallace  of  the  Hose  man-of-war,  a  naval  officer,  who  had  ac- 
quired an  almost  piratical  reputation  along  the  coast,  and  had  his 
rendezvous  in  the  harbor  of  Newport,  domineering  over  the 
waters  of  Rhode  Island.* 

About  this  time  there  was  an  occurrence,  which  caused  great 
excitement  in  the  armies.  A  woman,  coming  from  the  camp  at 
Cambridge,  applied  to  a  Mr.  Wainwood  of  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  to  aid  her  in  gaining  access  to  Captain  Wallace,  or  Mr. 
Dudley,  the  collector.  Wainwood,  who  was  a  patriot,  drew 
from  her  the  object  of  her  errand.  She  was  the  bearer  of  a 
letter  f rOm  some  one  in  camp,  directed  to  Major  Kane  in  Boston : 
but  which  she  was  to  deliver  either  to  the  captain  or  the  collector. 
Suspecting  something  wrong,  he  prevailed  upon  her  to  leave  it 
with  him  for  delivery.  After  her  departure  he  opened  the  letter. 
It  was  written  in  cipher,  which  he  could  not  read.  He  took  it 
to  Mr.  Henry  Ward,  secretary  of  the  colony.  The  latter,  ap- 
prehending it  might  contain  treasonable  information  to  the 
enemy,  transmitted  it  to  General  Greene,  who  laid  it  before 
Washington. 
*  Gov.  Trumbull  to  Washington.     Sparks'  Corresp.  of  the  Rev.  i.  27. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  347 

A  letter  in  cipher,  to  a  person  in  Boston  hostile  to  the  cause, 
and  to  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  Captain  Wallace  the  nauti- 
cal marauder  ! — there  evidently  was  treason  in  the  camp  ;  but 
how  was  the  traitor  to  be  detected  ?  The  first  step  was  to  se- 
cure the  woman,  the  bearer  of  the  letter,  who  had  returned  to 
Cambridge.  Tradition  gives  us  a  graphic  scene  connected  with 
her  arrest.  Washington  was  in  his  chamber  at  head-quarters, 
when  he  beheld  from  his  window.  General  Putnam  approaching 
on  horseback,  with  a  stout  woman  en  croupe  behind  him.  He 
had  pounced  upon  the  culprit.  The  group  presented  by  the  old 
general  and  his  prize,  overpowered  even  Washington's  gravity. 
It  was  the  only  occasion  throughout  the  whole  campaign,  on 
which  he  was  known  to  laugh  heartily.  He  had  recovered  his 
gravity  by  the  time  the  delinquent  was  brought  to  the  foot  of 
the  broad  staircase  in  head-quarters,  and  assured  her  in  a  severe 
tone  from  the  head  of  it,  that,  unless  she  confessed  everything 
before  the  next  morning,  a  halter  would  be  in  readiness  for  her. 

So  far  the  tradition  ; — his  own  letter  to  the  President  of 
Congress  states  that  for  a  long  time  the  woman  was  proof 
against  every  threat  and  persuasion  to  discover  the  author,  but 
at  length  named  Dr.  Benjamin  Church.  It  seemed  incredible. 
He  had  borne  the  character  of  a  distinguished  patriot ;  he  was 
the  author  of  various  patriotic  writings ;  a  member  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts House  of  Representatives ;  one  of  the  committee  de- 
puted to  conduct  Washington  to  the  army,  and  at  present  he 
discharged  the  functions  of  surgeon-general  and  director  of  the 
hospitals.  That  such  a  man  should  be  in  traitorous  correspond- 
ence with  the  enemy  was  a  thunderstroke.  Orders  were  given 
to  secure  him  and  his  papers.  On  his  arrest  he  was  extremely 
agitated,  but  acknowledged  the  letter,  and  said  it  would  be 
found,  when  deciphered,  to  contain  nothing  criminal.  His 
papers  were  searched,  but  nothing  of  a  treasonable  nature  dis- 
covered. "  It  appeared,  however,  on  inquiry,"  says  Washing- 
ton, "  that  a  confidant  had  been  among  the  papers  before  my 
messenger  arrived." 

The  letter  was  deciphered.  It  gave  a  description  of  the 
army.  The  doctor  made  an  awkward  defense,  protesting  that 
he  had  given  an  exaggerated  account  of  the  American  force  for 
the  purpose  of  deterring  the  enemy  from  attacking  the  American 
lines  in  their  present  defenseless  condition  from  the  want  of 
powder.  His  explanations  were  not  satisfactory.  The  army 
and  country  were  exceedingly  irritated.  In  a  council  of  war  he 
was  convicted  of  criminal  correspondence  ;  he  was  expelled 
from  the  Massachusetts  House  of  E-epresentatives,  and  the 
Continental  Congress  ultimately  resolved  that  he  should  be 


348  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

confined  in  some  secure  jail  in  Connecticut^  without  the  use  of 
jyen,  ink,  or  paper  ;  '^  and  that  no  person  be  allowed  to  converse 
with  him,  except  in  the  presence  and  hearing  of  a  magistrate  or 
the  sheriff  of  the  county." 

His  sentence  was  afterwards  mitigated  on  account  of  his 
health,  and  he  was  permitted  to  leave  the  country.  He  em- 
barked for  the  West  Indies,  and  is  supposed  to  have  perished 
at  sea.  _^ 

What  had  caused  especial  irritation  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Church 
was  the  kind  of  warfare  already  mentioned  carried  on  along  the 
coast  by  British  cruisers,  and  notoriously  by  Captain  Wallace. 
To  check  these  maraudings,  and  to  capture  the  enemy's  trans- 
ports laden  with  supplies,  the  provinces  of  Massachusetts,  Ehode 
Island,  and  Connecticut  fitted  out  two  armed  vessels  each,  at 
their  own  expense,  without  seeking  the  sanction  or  aid  of  Con- 
gress. Washington,  also,  on  his  own  responsibility,  ordered 
several  to  be  equipped  for  like  purpose,  which  were  to  be 
manned  by  hardy  mariners,  and  commanded  by  able  sea  cap- 
tains, actually  serving  in  the  army.  One  of  these  vessels  was 
despatched,  as  soon  as  ready,  to  cruise  between  Cape  Ann  and 
Gape  Cod.  Two  others  were  fitted  out  with  all  haste,  and  sent 
to  cruise  in  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  intercept  two 
unarmed  brigantines  which  Congress  had  been  informed  had 
sailed  from  England  for  Quebec,  with  ammunition  and  military 
stores.  Among  the  sturdy  little  New  England  seaports,  which 
had  become  obnoxious  to  punishment  by  resistance  to  nautical 
exactions,  was  Falmouth  (now  Portland),  in  Maine. 

On  the  evening  of  the  11th  of  October,  Lieutenant  Mowat,  of 
the  Royal  Navy,  appeared  before  it  with  several  armed  vessels, 
and  sent  a  letter  on  shore  apprising  the  inhabitants  that  he 
was  come  to  execute  a  just  punishment  on  them  for  their  "  pre- 
meditated attacks  on  the  legal  prerogatives  of  the  best  of 
sovereigns."  Two  hours  were  given  them  "  to  remove  the 
human  species  out  of  the  town,"  at  the  period  of  which  a  red 
pendant  hoisted  at  the  main-top-gallant  masthead  and  a  gun 
would  be  the  signal  for  destruction. 

The  letter  brought  a  deputation  of  three  persons  on  board. 
The  lieutenant  informed  them  verbally  that  he  had  orders  from 
Admiral  Graves  to  set  fire  to  all  the  seaport  towns  between 
Boston  and  Halifax  ;  and  he  expected  New  York,  at  the  present 
moment,  was  in  ashes. 

With  much  difficulty,  and  on  the  surrendering  of  some  arms, 
the  committee  obtained  a  respite  until  nine  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  and  the  inhabitants  employed  the  interval  in  remov- 
ing their  families  and  effects,     The  next  morning  the  com- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  349 

mittee  returned  on  board  before  nine  o'clock.  The  lieutenant 
now  offered  to  spare  the  town  on  certain  conditions,  which  were 
refused.  About  half-past  nine  o'clock  the  red  pendant  was  run 
up  to  tlie  masthead,  and  the  signal  gun  fired.  Within  five 
minutes  several  houses  were  in  flames  from  a  discharge  of  car- 
casses and  bombshells,  which  continued  throughout  the  day. 
The  inhabitants,  ''  standing  on  the  heights,  were  spectators  of 
the  conflagration,  which  reduced  many  of  them  to  penury  and 
despair."  One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  dwelling-houses  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  stores  are  said  to  have  been 
burnt.*  All  the  vessels  in  the  harbor,  likewise,  were  destroyed 
or  carried  away  as  prizes. 

Having  satisfied  his  sense  of  justice  with  respect  to  Falmouth, 
the  gallant  lieutenant  left  it  a  smoking  ruin,  and  made  sail,  as 
was  said,  for  Boston,  to  supply  himself  with  more  ammunition, 
having  the  intention  to  destroy  Portsmouth  also,  f 

The  conflagration  of  Falmouth  was  as  a  bale-fire  throughout 
the  country.  Lieutenant  Mowatwas  said  to  have  informed  the 
committee  at  that  place  that  orders  had  come  from  England  to 
burn  all  the  seaport  towns  that  would  not  lay  down  and  deliver 
up  their  arms,  and  give  hostages  for  their  good  behavior. $ 

Washington  himself  supposed  such  to  be  the  case.  "The 
desolation  and  misery,"  writes  he,  "which  ministerial  ven- 
geance had  planned,  in  contempt  of  every  principle  of  humanity, 
and  so  lately  brought  on  the  town  of  Falmouth,  I  know  not  how 
sufficiently  to  commiserate,  nor  can  my  compassion  for  the  gen- 
eral suffering  be  conceived  beyond  the  true  measure  of  my 
feelings." 

General  Greene,  too,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  expresses  himself 
with  equal  warmth.  "0,  could  the  Congress  behold  the 
distresses  and  wretched  condition  of  the  poor  inhabitants  driven 
from  the  seaport  towns,  it  must,  it  would,  kindle  a  blaze  of  in- 
dignation against  the  commissioned  pirates  and  licensed  rob- 
bers  People  begin  heartily  to  wish   a  declaration 

of  independence."§ 

General  Sullivan  was  sent  to  Portsmouth,  where  there  was  a 
fortification  of  some  strength,  to  give  the  inhabitants  his  ad- 
vice and  assistance  in  warding  o^  the  menaced  blow.  New- 
port, also,  was  put  on  the  alert,  and  recommended  to  fortify 
tself.     "  I  expect   everj^  hour,"  writes  Washington,   "  to  hear 

*  Holmes'  Annals^  ii.  220.  t  Letter  of  P.  Jones, 

f  Letter  from  Gen.  Greene  to  Gov.  Cooke. 
§  Letter  to  the  President  of  Congress. 


350  Li^^i^  OF  \vasih:ngton. 

that  Newport  has  shared  the  same  fate  of  unhappy  Falmouth."* 
Under  the  feeling  roused  by  these  reports,  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts  exercising  a  sovereign  power,  passed  an  act 
for  encouraging  the  fitting  out  of  armed  vessels  to,  defend  the 
sea-coast  of  America,  and  for  erecting  a  court  to  try  and  con- 
demn all  vessels  that  should  be  found  infesting  the  same.  This 
act,  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  anticipated  any 
measure  of  the  kind  on  the  part  of  the  General  Government, 
and  was  pronounced  by  John  Adams  "  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant documents  in  history.^f 

The  British  ministry  have,  in  latter  days,  been  exculpated 
from  the  charge  of  issuing  such  a  desolating  order  as  that  said 
to  have  been  reported  by  Lieutenant  Mowat.  The  orders  under 
which  that  officer  acted,  we  are  told,  emanated  from  General 
Gage  and  Admiral  Graves.  The  former  intended  merely  the 
annoyance  and  destruction  of  rebel  shipping,  whether  on  the 
coast  or  in  the  harbors  to  the  eastward  of  Boston  ;  the  burning 
of  the  town  is  surmised  to  have  been  an  additional  thought  of 
Admiral  Graves.  Naval  officers  have  a  passion  for  bombard- 
ments. 

Whatever  part  General  Gage  may  have  had  in  this  most  ill- 
advised  and  discreditable  measure,  it  was  the  last  of  his  military 
government,  and  he  did  not  remain  long  enough  in  the  country 
to  see  it  carried  into  effect.  He  sailed  for  England  on  the  10th 
of  October.  The  tidings  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  had 
withered  his  laurels  as  a  commander.  Still  he  was  not  absolutely 
superseded,  but  called  home,  "  in  order,"  as  it  was  consider- 
ately said,  '^  to  give  His  Majesty  exact  information  of 
everything,  and  suggest  such  matters  as  his  knowledge 
and  experience  of  the  service  might  enable  him  to  furnish." 
During  his  absence.  Major-general  Howe  would  act  as  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  colonies  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  Major 
general  Carleton  of  the  British  forces  in  Canada  and  on  the 
frontiers.  Gage  fully  expected  to  return  and  resume  the  com- 
mand. In  a  letter  written  to  the  minister,  Lord  Dartmouth,., 
the  day  before  sailing,  he  urged  the  arrival,  early  in  the  spring,^ 
of  reinforcements  which  had  been  ordered,  and  anticipating 
great  hazard  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign.  In  the  meantim< 
he  trusted  that  two  thousand  troops,  shortly  expected  from  Ire 
land,  would  enable  him  "to  distress  the  rebels  by  incursions 
along  the  coast," — and — "  he  hoped  Portsmouth  in  New  Ham^ 
shire  would  feel  the  weight  of  His  Majesty's  arms."  Pool 
Gage,"   writes  Horace  Walpole,   "  is  to  be  the   scape-goat  fol 

\Am.  Archives^  iii.  1145. 
t  See  Life  of  Gerry,  p.  109. 


LIFE  OF  WASIUJSQfON,  351 

what  was  a  reason  against  employing  him — incapacity."  He 
never  returned  to  America. 

On  the  15th  of  October  a  Committee  from  Congress  arrived 
in  camp,  sent  to  hold  a  Conference  with  Washington,  and  with 
delegates  from  the  governments  of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire,  on  the  subject  of  a  new 
organization  of  the  army.  The  committee  consisted  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Thomas  Lynch  of  Carolina,  and  Colonel  Harrison  of 
Virginia.  It  was  just  twenty  years  since  Washington  had  met 
Franklin  in  Braddock's  camp,  aiding  that  unwary  general  by 
his  sagacious  counsels  and  prompt  expedients.  Franklin  was 
regarded  with  especial  deference  in  the  camp  at  Cambridge. 
Greene,  who  had  never  met  with  him  before,  listened  to  him  aa 
to  an  oracle. 

Washington  was  president  of  the  board  of  conference,  and  Mr. 
Joseph  Reed  secretary.  The  committee  brought  an  intimation 
from  Congress  that  an  attack  upon  Boston  was  much  desired, 
if  practicable. 

Washington  called  a  council  of  war  of  his  generals  on  the 
subject ;  they  were  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  an  attack 
w*3uld  not  be  prudent  at  present. 

Another  question  now  arose.  An  attack  upon  the  British 
forces  in  Boston,  whenever  it  should  take  place",  might  require 
a  bombardment ;  Washington  inquired  of  the  delegates  how  far 
it  might  be  pushed  to  the  destruction  of  houses  and  property. 
They  considered  it  a  question  of  too  much  importance  to  be  de- 
cided by  them,  and  said  it  must  be  referred  to  Congress.  But 
though  they  declined  taking  upon  themselves  the  responsibility, 
the  majority  of  them  was  strongly  in  favor  of  it ;  and  expressed 
themselves  so,  when  the  matter  was  discussed  informally  in 
camp.  Two  of  the  committee,  Lynch  and  Harrison,  as  well  as 
Judge  Wales,  delegate  from  Connecticut,  when  the  possible 
effects  of  a  bombardment  were  suggested  at  a  dinner  table,  de- 
clared that  they  would  be  willing  to  see  Boston  in  flames.  Lee, 
who  was  present,  observed  that  it  was  impossible  to  burn  it  un- 
less they  sent  in  men  with  bundles  of  straw  to  do  it.  "  It  could 
not  be  done  with  carcasses  and  red-hot  shot.  Isle  Royal,'^  he 
added,  "  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  had  been  fired  at  for  a  long 
time  in  1760,  with  a  fi.ne  train  of  artillery,  hot-shot  and  car- 
casses, without  effect."  "* 

The  board  of  conference  was  repeatedly  in  session,  for  three 
or  four  days.  The  report  of  its  deliberations  rendered  by  the 
committee,  produced  a  resolution  of  Congress,  that  a  new  army 

*  Life  of  Dr.  Belknap^  p.  96.  The  doctor  was  present  at  the  abovQ 
cited  conversation. 


352  ^^I^^  OF  WASSmofO^. 

of  twenty-two  tliousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-two  men  and 
officers,  should  be  formed,  to  he  recruited  as  much  as  possiWe 
from  the  troops  actually  in  service.  Unfortunately  the  term 
for  which  they  were  to  be  enlisted  was  to  be  hut  for  one  year. 
It  formed  a  precedent  which  became  a  recurring  cause  of  em- 
barrassment throughout  the  war. 

Washington's  secretary,  Mr.  Reed,  had,  after  the  close  of  the 
conference,  signified  to  him  his  intention  to  return  to  Phila- 
delphia, where  his  private  concerns  required  his  presence.  His 
departure  was  deeply  regretted.  His  fluent  pen  had  been  of 
great  assistance  to  Washington  in  the  despatch  of  his  multifari- 
ous correspondence,  and  his  judicious  counsels  and  cordial  sym- 
pathies had  been  still  more  appreciated  by  the  commander-in- 
chief,  amid  the  multiplied  difficulties  of  his  situation.  On  the 
departure  of  Mr.  Eeed,  his  place  as  secretary  was  temporarily 
supplied  by  Mr.  Robert  Harrison  of  Maryland,  and  subsequently 
by  Colonel  Mifflin  ;  neither,  however,  attained  to  the  affectionate 
confidence  reposed  in  their  predecessor. 

We  shall  have  occasion  to  quote  the  correspondence  kept  up 
between  Washington  and  Reed,  during  the  absence  of  the  latter. 
The  letters  of  the  former  are  peculiarly  interesting,  as  giviiig 
views  of  what  was  passing,  not  merely  around  him,  but  in  the 
recesses  of  his  own  heart.  No  greater  proof  need  be  given  of  the 
rectitude  of  that  heart,  than  the  clearness  and  fullness  with 
which,  in  these  truthful  documents,  every  thought  and  feeling 
is  laid  open. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

MEASURES  OF  GENERAL  HOWE. DESECRATION  OF  CHURCHES. 

THREE    PROCLAMATIONS. SEIZURE     OF     TORIES. WANT     OP 

ARTILLERY. HENRY  KNOX,  THE  ARTILLERIST. HIS  MISSION 

TO     TICONDEROGA. RE-ENLISTMENT    OF  TROOPS. LACK     OF 

PUBLIC  SPIRIT. COMMENTS  OF  GENERAL  GREENE. 

The  measures  which  General  Howe  had  adopted  after  taking 
command  in  Boston,  rejoiced  the  royalists,  seeming  to  justify 
their  anticipations.  He  proceeded  to  strengthen  the  works  on 
Bunker's  Hill  and  Boston  Neck,  and  to  clear  away  houses  and 
throw  up  redoubts  on  eminences  within  the  town.  The  patriot 
inhabitants  were  shocked  by  the  desecration  of  the  Old  South 
Church,  which  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  had  been  a  favor- 
ite place  of  worship,  where  some  of  the  most  eminent  divines 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  353 

liad  officiated.  The  pulpit  and  pews  were  now  removed,  the 
floor  was  covered  with  earth,  and  the  sacred  edifice  was  con- 
verted into  a  riding-school  for  Burgoyne's  light  dragoons.  To 
excuse  its  desecration,  it  was  spoken  of  scoffingly  as  a  "  meeting- 
house, where  sedition  had  often  been  preached." 

The  North  Church,  another  "  meeting-house,"  was  entirely 
demolished  and  was  used  for  fuel.  "  Thus,"  says  the  chroni- 
cler of  the  day,  "  thus  are  our  houses  devoted  to  religious  wor- 
ship, profaned  and  destroyed  by  the  subjects  of  His  E-oyal 
Majesty."  =* 

About  the  last  of  October,  Howe  issued  three  proclamations. 
The  first  forbade  all  persons  to  leave  Boston  without  his  per- 
mission under  pain  of  military  execution  ;  the  second  forbade 
any  one,  so  permitted,  to  take  with  him  more  than  five  pounds 
sterling,  under  pain  of  forfeiting  all  the  money  found  upon  his 
person  and  being  subject  to  fine  and  imprisonment;  the  third 
called  upon  the  inhabitants  to  arm  themselves  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  order  within  the  town  ;  they  to  be  commanded  by  offi- 
cers of  his  appointment. 

Washington  had  recently  been  incensed  by  the  conflagration 
of*Falmouth ;  the  conduct  of  Governor  Dunmore  who  had  pro- 
claimed martial  law  in  Virginia,  and  threatened  ruin  to  the 
patriots,  had  added  to  this  provocation  ;  the  measures  of  Gen- 
eral Howe  seemed  of  the  same  harsh  character,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  retaliate. 

"  Would  it  not  be  prudent,"  writes  he  to  Governor  Trumbull 
of  Connecticut,  "  to  seize  those  tories  who  have  been,  are,  and 
we  know  will  be  active  against  us  ?  Why  should  persons  who 
are  preying  upon  the  vitals  of  their  country,  be  suffered  to 
stalk  at  large,  whilst  we  know  they  will  do  us  every  mischief  in 
their  power  ?  " 

In  this  spirit  he  ordered  General  Sullivan,  who  was  fortify- 
ing Portsmouth,  "to  seize  upon  such  persons  as  held  commis- 
sions under  the  crown,  and  were  acting  as  open  and  avowed 
enemies  to  their  country,  and  hold  them  as  hostages  for  the  se- 
curity of  the  town."  Still  he  was  moderate  in  his  retaliation, 
and  stopped  short  of  private  individuals.  "  Eor  the  present," 
said  he,  "  I  shall  avoid  giving  the  like  order  with  regard  to  the 
tories  of  Portsmouth  ;  but  the  day  is  not  far  off  when  they  will 
meet  with  this,  or  a  worse  fate,  if  there  is  not  a  considerable 
reformation  in  their  conduct."  f 

The  season  was  fast  approaching  when  the  bay  between  the 
camp  and  Boston  would  be  frozen  over,  and  military  operations 

*  Thacher's,  Military  Journal^  p.  50. 

t  Letter  to  William  Palfrey.    Sparks,  ill.  158. 


354  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

might  be  conducted  upon  the  ice.  General  Howe,  if  reinforced, 
would  then  very  probably  "  endeavor  to  relieve  himself  from 
the  disgraceful  confinement  in  which  the  ministerial  troops  had 
been  all  summer."  Washington  felt  the  necessity,  therefore, 
of  guarding  the  camps  wherever  they  were  most  assailable ; 
and  of  throwing  up  batteries  for  the  purpose.  He  had  been 
embarrassed  throughout  the  siege  by  the  want  of  artillery  and 
ordnance  stores  ;  but  never  more  so  than  at  the  present  mo- 
ment. In  this  juncture,  Mr.  Henry  Knox  stepped  forward, 
and  offered  to  proceed  to  the  frontier  forts  on  Champlain  in 
quest  of  a  supply. 

Knox  was  one  of  those  providential  characters  which  spring 
up  in  emergencies,  as  if  they  were  formed  by  and  for  the  occa- 
sion. A  thriving  bookseller  in  Boston,  he  had  thrown  up  busi- 
ness to  take  up  arms  for  the  liberties  of  his  country.  He  was 
one  of  the  patriots  who  had  fought  on  Bunker's  Hill,  since 
when  he  had  aided  in  planning  the  defenses  of  the  camp  be- 
fore Boston.  The  aptness  and  talent  here  displayed  by  him  as 
an  artillerist,  had  recently  induced  Washington  to  recommend 
him  to  Congress  for  the  command  of  the  regiment  of  artillery 
in  place  of  the  veteran  Gridley,  who  was  considered  by  all  the 
officers  of  the  camp  too  old  for  active  employment.  Congress 
had  not  yet  acted  on  that  recommendation  ;  in  the  meantime 
Washington  availed  himself  of  the  offered  services  of  Knox  in 
the  present  instance.  He  was  accordingly  instructed  to 
examine  into  the  state  of  the  artillery  in  camp,  and  take  an  ac- 
count of  the  cannon,  mortars,  shells,  lead,  and  ammunition  that 
were  wanting.  He  was  then  to  hasten  to  New  York,  procure 
and  forward  all  that  could  be  had  there  ;  and  thence  proceed  to 
the  head-quarters  of  General  Schuyler,  who  was  requested  by 
letter  to  aid  him  in  obtaining  what  further  supplies  of  the  kind 
were  wanting  from  the  forts  of  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point,  St. 
John's,  and  even  Quebec,  should  it  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
Americans.  Knox  set  off  on  his  errand  with  promptness  and 
alacrity,  and  shortly  afterwards  the  commission  of  colonel  of  the 
regiment  of  artillery  which  Washington  had  advised,  was  for- 
warded to  him  by  Congress. 

The  reenlistment  of  troops  actually  in  service  was  now  at- 
tempted, and  proved  a  fruitful  source  of  perplexity.  In  a  letter 
to  the  President  of  Congress,  Washington  observes  that  half  of 
the  officers  of  the  rank  of  captain  were  inclined  to  retire ;  and 
it  was  probable  their  example  would  influence  their  men.  Of 
those  who  were  disposed  to  remain,  the  officers  of  one  colony 
were  unwilling  to  mix  in  the  same  regiment  with  those  of  an- 
other.    Many  sent  in  their  names,  to  serve  in  expectation  of 


LIFK  OF  WASHINGTON.  355 

promotion;  others  stood  aloof,  to  see  what  advantages  they 
could  make  for  themselves ;  while  those  who  had  declined  sent 
in  their  names  again  to  serve.*  The  difficulties  were  greater, 
if  possible,  with  the  soldiers  than  with  the  officers.  They  would 
not  enlist  unless  they  knew  their  colonel,  lieutenant-colonel, 
and  captain  ;  Connecticut  men  being  unwilling  to  serve  under 
officers  from  Massachusetts,  and  Massachusetts  men  under 
officers  from  Ehode  Island ;  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  ap- 
point the  officers  first. 

Twenty  daj^s  later  he  again  writes  to  the  President  of  Con- 
gress :  "  I  am  sorry  to  be  necessitated  to  mention  to  you  the 
egregious  want  of  public  spirit  which  prevails  here.  Instead 
oppressing  to  be  engaged  in  the  cause  of  their  country,  which 
I  vainly  flattered  myself  would  be  the  case,  I  find  we  are  most 

likely  to  be. deserted  in  a  most  critical  time Our 

situation  is  truly  alarming,  and  of  this  General  Howe  is  well 
apprised.  Ko  doubt  when  he  is  reinforced  he  will  avail  himself 
of  the  information." 

In  a  letter  to  Reed  he  disburdened  his  heart  more  completely. 
"Such  dearth  of  public  spirit,  and  such  want  of  virtue;  such 
stock-jobbing,  and  fertility  in  all  the  low  arts  to  obtain  advan- 
tage of  one  kind  or  another  in  this  great  change  of  military 
arrangement,  I  never  saw  before,  and  I  pray  God's  mercy  that 
I  may  never  be  witness  to  again.  What  will  be  the  end  of 
these  maneuvers  is  beyond  my  scan.  I  tremble  at  the  prospect. 
"We  have  been  till  this  time  (Nov.  28)  enlisting  about  three 
thousand  five  hundred  men.  To  engage  these,  I  have  been 
obliged  to  allow  furloughs  as  far  as  fifty  men  to  a  regiment, 
and  the  officers  I  am  persuaded  indulge  many  more.  The  Con- 
necticut troops  will  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  stay  longer  than 
their  term,  saving  those  who  have  enlisted  for  the  next  cam- 
paign, and  are  mostly  on  furlough ;  and  such  a  mercenary  spirit 
pervades^he  whole,  that  I  should  not  be  surprised  at  any  dis- 
aster that  may  happen Could  I  have  foreseen  what 

I  have  experienced  and  am  likely  to  experience,  no  considera- 
tion upon  earth  should  have  induced  me  to  accept  this  com- 
mand." 

No  one  drew  closer  to  Washington  in  this  time  of  his  troubles 
and  perplexities  than  General  Greene.  He  had  a  real  venera- 
tion for  his  character,  and  thought  himself  "  happy  in  an  op- 
portunity to  serve  under  so  good  a  general."  He  grieved  at 
Washington's  annoyances,  but  attributed  them  in  part  to  his 
being  somewhat  of  a  stranger  in  New  England.  "  He  has  not 
had  time,"  writes  he,  "  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the 
*  Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress,  Nov.  8. 


356  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

genius  of  this  people  ;  they  are  naturally  as  brave  and  spirited 
as  the  peasantry  of  any  other  country,  but  you  cannot  expect 
veterans  of  a  raw  militia  from  only  a  few  months'  service.  The 
common  people  are  exceedingly  avaricious  ;  the  genius  of  the 
people  is  commercial,  from  their  long  intercourse  of  trade.  The 
sentiment  of  honor,  the  true  characteristic  of  a  soldier,  has  not 
yet  got  the  better  of  interest.  His  Excellency  has  been  taught 
to  believe  the  people  here  a  superior  race  of  mortals  ;  and  find- 
ing them  of  the  same  temper  and  dispositions,  passions  and 
prejudices,  virtues  and  vices  of  the  common  people  of  other 
governments,  they  sank  in  his  esteem."  * 


CHAPTER  L. 

AFFAIRS  IN  CANADA. CAPTURE    OF    FORT    CHAMBLEE. SIEGE 

OF  ST.  John's. — maclean  and  his  Highlanders. — Mont- 
gomery ON    THE    TREATMENT  OF    ETHAN    ALLEN. REPULSE 

of   carleton. capitulation    of  the  garrison  op  st. 

John's. — generous  conduct  of  Montgomery. — maclean 

ke-embarks  for  quebec. weary   struggle  of  arnold 

through  the  wilderness. defection  of  colonel  eno^. 

arnold  in  the  valley  of  the  chaudiere. his  arri- 
val opposite  quebec. surrender  of  montreal. escape 

of  carleton. home-sickness  of  the  american  troops. 

Despatches  from  Schuyler  dated  October  26th,  gave  Wash- 
ington another  chapter  of  the  Canada  expedition.  Chamblee, 
an  inferior  fort,  within  five  miles  of  St.  John's,  had  been  taken 
by  Majors  Brown  and  Livingston  at  the  head  of  fifty  Aidi|ricans 
and  three  hundred  Canadians.  A  large  quantity  of  gunpowder 
and  other  military  stores  found  there,  was  a  seasonable  supply 
to  the  army  before  St.  John's,  and  consoled  General  Mont- 
gomery for  his  disappointment  in  regard  to  the  aid  promised 
by  Colonel  Ethan  Allen.  He  now  pressed  the  siege  of  St. 
John's  with  vigor.  The  garrison,  cut  off  from  supplies,  were 
suffering  from  want  of  provisions  ;  but  the  brave  commander 
Major  Preston,  still  held  out  manfully,  hoping  speedy  relief 
from  General  Carleton,  who  was  assembling  troops  for  that  pur- 
pose at  Montreal. 

Carleton,  it  is  true,    had   but  about  one   hundred  regulars,| 
*  Greene  to  Dep.  Gov.  Ward.     Am,  Archives j  4th  Series,  ill.  1145 


7 
f 

i 


J.IFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  357 

several  hundred  Canadians,  and  a  number  of  Indians  with  him ; 
but  he  calculated  greatly  on  the  cooperationof  Colonel  Maclean, 
a  veteran  Scot,  brave  and  bitterly  loyal,  who  had  enlisted  three 
hundred  of  his  countrymen  at  Quebec,  and  formed  them  into 
a  regiment  called  "  The  Royal  Highland  Emigrants."  This 
doughty  Highlander  was  to  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel, 
where  it  empties  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  proceed  along 
the  former  river  to  St.  John's,  to  join  Carleton,  who  would  re- 
pair thither  by  the  way  of  Longueil. 

In  the  meantime  Montgomery  received  accounts  from  vari- 
ous quarters  that  Colonel  Ethan  Allen  and  his  men,  captured 
.in  the  ill-advised  attack  upon  Montreal,  were  treated  with 
cruel  and  unnecessary  severity,  being  loaded  with  irons  ;  and 
that  even  the  colonel  himself  was  subjected  to  this  "  shocking 
indignity."  Montgomery  addressed  a  letter  to  Carleton  on 
the  subject,  strong  and  decided  in  its  purport,  but  written  in 
the  spirit  of  a  courteous  and  high-minded  gentleman,  and  end- 
ing with  an  expression  of  that  sad  feeling  which  gallant  officers 
must  often  have  experienced  in  this  revolutionary  conflict,  on 
being  brought  into  collision  with  former  brothers  in  arms. 

"  Your  character,  sir,"  writes  he,  "  induces  me  to  hope  I  am 
ill-informed.  Nevertheless,  the  duty  I  owe  the  troops  com- 
mitted to  my  charge,  lays  me  under  the  necessity  of  acquaint- 
ing your  Excellency,  that,  if  you  allow  this  conduct  and  per- 
sist in  it,  I  shall,  though  with  the  most  painful  regret,  execute 
with  rigor  the  just  and  necessary  law  of  retaliation  upon  the 
garrison  of   Chamblee,  now  in    my  possession,  and   upon    all 

others    who  may  hereafter  fall  into  my   hands I 

shall  expect  your  Excellency's  answer  in  six  days.  Should  the 
bearer  not  return  in  that  time,  I  must  interpret  your  silence 
into  a  declaration  of  a  barbarous  war.  I  cannot  pass  this  op- 
portunity without  lamenting  the  melancholy  and  fatal  necessity, 
-  which  obliges  the  firmest  friends  of  the  constitution  to  oppose 
one  of  the  most  respectable  officers  of  the  crown." 

While  waiting  for  a  reply,  Montgomery  pressed  the  siege  of 
St.  John's,  though  thwarted  continually  by  the  want  of  sub- 
ordination and  discipline  among  his  troops — hasty  levies  from 
various  colonies,  who,  said  he,  "  carry  the  spirit  of  freedom  into 
the  field,  and  think  for  themselves."  Accustomed  as  he  had 
been,  in  his  former  military  experience,  to  the  implicit  obedi- 
ence of  European  troops,  the  insubordination  of  these  yeoman 
soldiery  was  intolerable  to  him.  "Were  I  not  afraid,"  writes 
he,  "  the  example  would  be  too  generally  followed,  and  that  the 
public  service  might  suffer,  I  would  not  stay  an  hour  at  the 
head  of  troops  whose  operations  I  cannot  direct.     I  must  say  I 


358  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

have  no  hopes  of  success,  unless  from  the  garrison's  wanting 
provisions." 

He  had  advanced  his  lines  and  played  from  his  batteries  on 
two  sides  of  the  fort  for  some  hours,  when  tidings  brought  by 
four  prisoners  caused  him  to  cease  his  fire. 

General  Carleton,  on  the  31st  of  September,  had  embarked 
his  motley  force  at  Montreal  in  thirty-four  boats,  to  cross  the 
St.  Lawrence,  land  at  Longueil,  and  pushed  on  for  St  John's 
where,  as  concerted,  he  was  to  be  joined  by  Maclean  and  his 
Highlanders.  As  the  boats  approached  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  at  Longueil,  a  terrible  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry  was 
unexpectedly  opened  upon  them,  and  threw  them  into  confusion. 
It  was  from  Colonel  Seth  Warner's  detachment  of  Green 
Mountain  Boys  and  New  Yorkers.  Some  of  the  boats  were 
disabled,  some  were  driven  on  shore  on  an  island ;  Carleton  re- 
treated with  the  rest  to  Montreal,  with  some  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded.  The  Americans  captured  two  Canadians  and  two 
Indians  ;  and  it  was  these  prisoners  who  brought  tidings  to 
the  camp  of  Carleton's  signal  repulse. 

Aware  that  the  garrison  held  out  merely  in  expectation  of  the 
relief  thus  intercepted,  Montgomery  ceased  his  fire,  and  sent 
a  flag  by  one  of  the  Canadian  prisoners  with  a  letter  informing 
Major  Preston  of  the  event,  and  inviting  a  surrender  to  spare 
the  effusion  of  blood. 

Preston  in  reply  expressed  a  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  report 
brought  by  the  prisoners,  but  offered  to  surrender  if  not  re- 
lieved in  four  days.  The  condition  was  refused,  and  the  gal- 
lant major  was  obliged  to  capitulate.  His  garrison  consisted 
of  five  hundred  regulars  and  one  hundred  Canadians  ;  among  the 
latter  were  several  of  the  provincial  noblesse. 

Montgomery  treated  Preston  and  his  garrison  with  the 
courtesy  inspired  by  their  gallant  resistance.  He  had  been  a 
British  officer  himself,  and  his  old  associations  with  the  service 
made  him  sympathize  with  the  brave  men  whom  the  fortune 
of  war  had  thrown  into  his  hands.  Perhaps  their  high-bred  and 
aristocratic  tone  contrasted  favorably  in  his  ej^^es,  with  the 
rough  demeanor  of  the  crude  swordsmen  with  whom  he  had  re- 
cently associated,  and  brought  back  the  feelings  of  early  days 
when  war  with  him  was  a  gay  profession,  not  a  melancholy 
duty.  According  to  the  capitulation,  the  baggage  of  both 
officers  and  men  was  secured  to  them,  and  each  of  the  latter  re- 
ceived a  new  suit  of  clothing  from  the  captured  stores.  This 
caused  a  murmur  among  the  American  soldiery,  many  of  whom 
were  nearly  naked,  and  the  best  but  scantily  provided.  Even 
some  of  the   officers  were  indignant  that   all   the  articles  of 


I 


LIFE  OF  WA8BINGT0K.  359 

clothing  had  not  been  treated  as  lawful  spoil.  "  I  would  not 
have  sullied  my  own  reputation,  nor  disgraced  the  Continental 
arms  by  such  a  breach  of  capitulation  for  the  universe/'  said 
Montgomery,  Having  sent  his  prisoners  up  Lake  Champlain  to 
Ticonderoga,  he  prepared  to  proceed  immediately  to  Montreal  ; 
requesting  General  Schuyler  to  forward  all  the  men  he  could 
possibly  spare. 

The  Royal  Highland  Emigrants  who  were  to  have  cooperated 
with  General  Carleton,  met  with  no  better  fortune  than  that 
commander.  Maclean  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel,  and  add- 
ed to  his  force  by  recruiting  a  number  of  Canadians  in  the  neighbor- 
hood at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  He  was  in  full  march  for  St. 
John's  when  he  was  encountered  by  Majors  Brown  and  Livings- 
ton with  their  party,  fresh  from  the  capture  of  Chamblee,  and  re- 
inforced by  a  number  of  Green  Mountain  Boys.  These  pressed 
him  back  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel,  where  hearing  of  the  re-, 
pulse  of  Carleton,  and  being  deserted  by  his  Canadian  recruits, 
he  embarked  the  residue  of  his  troops,  and  set  off  down  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  Quebec.  The  Americans  now  took  post  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Sorel,  where  they  erected  batteries  so  as  to  com- 
mand the  St.  Lawrence,  and  prevent  the  descent  of  any  armed 
vessels  from  Montreal. 

Thus  closed  another  chapter  of  the  invasion  of  Canada.  "  Not 
a  word  of  Arnold  yet,"  said  Montgomery,  in  his  last  despatch. 
"  I  have  sent  two  expresses  to  him  lately,  one  by  an  Indian 
who  promised  to  return  with  expedition.  The  instant  I  have 
any  news  of  him,  I  will  acquaint  you  by  express/' 

We  will  anticipate  his  express,  by  giving  the  reader  the  pur- 
port of  letters  received  by  Washington  direct  from  Arnold  him- 
self, bringing  forward  the  collateral  branch  of  this  eventful  en- 
terprise. 

The  transportation  of  troops  and  effects  across  the  carrying- 
place  between  the  Kennebec  and  Dead  Bivers,  had  been  a  work 
of  severe  toil  and  difficulty  to  Arnold  and  his  men,  but  perform- 
ed with  admirable  spirit.  There  were  ponds  and  streams  full 
of  trout  and  salmon,  which  furnished  them  with  fresh  provis- 
ions. Launching  their  boats  on  the  sluggish  waters  of  the 
Dead  Biver,  they  navigated  it  in  divisions,  as  before,  to  the  foot 
of  snow-crowned  mountains ;  a  part  of  the  great  granite  chain 
which  extends  from  southwest  to  northeast  throughout  our 
continent.  Here,  while  Arnold  and  the  first  division  were  en- 
camped to  repose  themselves,  heavy  rains  set  in,  and  they  came 
near  being  swept  away  by  sudden  torrents  from  the  mountains. 
Several  of  their  boats  were  overturned,  much  of  their  provisions 
was  lost,  the  sick  list  increased,  and  the  good  spirits  which  had 


360  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

hitherto  sustained  them  began  to  give  way.  They  were  on 
scanty  allowance,  with  a  prospect  of  harder  times,  for  there 
were  still  twelve  or  fifteen  days  of  wilderness  before  them,  where 
no  supplies  were  to  be  had.  A  council  of  war  was  now  held,  in 
which  it  was  determined  to  send  back  the  sick  and  disabled, 
who  were  mere  encumbrances.  Arnold,  accordingly,  wrote  to 
the  commanders  of  the  other  divisions,  to  press  on  with  as  many 
of  their  men  as  they  could  furnish  with  provisions  for  fifteen 
days,  and  to  send  the  rest  back  to  a  place  on  the  route  called 
Norridgewock.  This  order  was  misunderstood,  or  misinter- 
preted, by  Colonel  Enos,  who  commanded  the  rear  division  ;  he 
gave  all  the  provisions  he  could  spare  to  Colonel  Greene  of  the 
third  division,  retaining  merely  enough  to  supply  his  own  corps 
of  three  hundred  "'men  on  their  way  back  to  Korridgewock, 
whither  he  immediately  returned. 

Letters  from  Arnold  and  Enos  apprised  Washington  of  this 
grievous  flaw  in  the  enterprise.  He  regarded  it,  however,  as 
usual,  with  a  hoi:)eful  eye.  "Notwithstanding  this  great  de- 
fection,'^ said  he,  "  I  do  not  despair  of  Colonel  Arnold's  suc- 
cess. vHe  will  have,  in  all  probability,  many  more  difficulties 
to  encounter,  than  if  he  had  been  a  fortnight  soonet ;  as  it  is 
likely  that  Governor  Carleton,  will,  with  what  forces  he  can 
collect  after  the  surrender  of  the  rest  of  Canada,  throw  himself 
into  Quebec,  and  there  make  his  last  effort."  * 

Washington  was  not  mistaken  in  the  confidence  he  had 
placed  in  the  energy  of  Arnold.  Though  the  latter  found  his 
petty  force  greatly  reduced  by  the  retrograde  move  of  Enos  and 
his  party,  and  although  snow  and  ice  rendered  his  march  still 
more  bleak  among  the  mountains,  he  kept  on  with  unflinching 
spirit  until  he  arrived  at  the  ridge  which  divides  the  streams 
of  New  England  and  Canada.  Here,  at  Lake  Megantic,  the 
source  of  the  Chaudiere,  he  met  an  emissary  whom  he  had  sent 
in  advance  to  ascertain  the  feelings  of  the  habitans,  or  French 
yeomanry,  in  the  fertile  valley  of  that  stream.  His  report  being 
favorable,  Arnold  shared  out  among  the  different  companies  the 
scanty  provisions  which  remained,  directing  them  to  make  the 
best  of  their  way  for  the  Chaudiere  settlements  ;  while  he,  with 
a  light  foraging  party,  would  push  rapidly  ahead,  to  procure  and 
and  send  back  supplies. 

He  accordingly  embarked  with  his  little  party  in  five  bateaux 
and  a  birch  canoe,  and  launched  forth  without  a  guide  on  the 
swift  current  of  the  Chaudiere.  It  was  little  better  than  a 
mountain    torrent,  full  of  rocks    and  rapids.     Three   of   their 

*  Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress,  Nov.  19th. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  361 

boats  were  dashed  to  pieces,  the  cargoes  lost,  and  the  crews 
saved  with  difficulty.  At  one  time,  the  whole  party  came  near 
being  precipitated  over  *a  cataract,  where  "all  might  have  per- 
ished ;  at  length  they  reached  Sertigan,  the  first  French  settle- 
ment, where  they  were  cordially  received.  Here  Arnold  bought 
provisions,  which  he  sent  back  by  the  Canadians  and  Indians  to 
his  troops.  The  latter  were  in  a  state  of  starvation.  Some  had 
not  tasted  food  for  eight-and-forty  hours ;  others  had  cooked 
two  dogs,  followers  of  the  camp  ;  and  others  had  boiled  their 
moccasins,  cartouch  boxes,  and  other  articles  of  leather,  in  the 
hope  of  rendering  them  eatable. 

Arnold  halted  for  a  short  time  in  the  hospitable  valley  of  the 
Chaudiere,  to  give  his  troops  repose,  and  distributed  among  the 
inhabitants  the  printed  manifesto  with  which  he  had  been  fur- 
nished by  Washington.  Here  he  was  joined  by  about  forty 
Norridgewock  Indians.  On  the  9th  of  November,  the  little 
army  emerged  from  the  woods  at  Point  Levi,  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence, opposite  to  Quebec.  A  letter  written  by  an  inhabitant 
of  that  place,  speaks  of  their  sudden  apparition. 

'^  There  are  about  five  hundred  provincials  arrived  at  Point 
Levi,  opposite  to  the  town,  by  the  way  of  Chaudiere  across  the 
woods.  Surely  a  miracle  must  have  been  wrought  in  their  fa- 
vor. It  is  an  undertaking  above  the  common  race  of  men  in 
this  debauched  age.  They  have  travelled  through  woods  and 
bogs,  and  over  precipices,  for  the  space  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles,  attended  with  every  inconvenience  and  difficulty, 
to  be  surmounted  only  by  men  of  indefatigable  zeal  and  in- 
dustry." 

Leaving  Arnold  in  full  sight  of  Quebec,  which,  after  his  long 
struggle  through  the  wilderness,  must  have  appeared  like  a 
land  of  promise,  we  turn  to  narrate  the  events  of  the  upper  ex- 
pedition into  Canada,  of  which  the  letters  of  Schuyler  kept 
Washington  faithfully  informed. 

Montgomery  appeared  before  Montreal  on  the  12th  of  No- 
vember. General  Carleton  had  embarked  with  his  little  garri- 
son, and  several  of  the  civil  officers  of  the  place,  on  board  of  a 
flotilla,  of  ten  or  eleven  small  vessels,  and  made  sail  in  the 
night,  with  a  favorable  breeze,  carrying  away  with  him  the 
powder  and  other  important  stores.  The  town  capitulated,  of 
course  ;  and  Montgomery  took  quiet  possession.  His  urbanity 
and  kindness  soon  won  the  good-will  of  the  inhabitants,  both 
English  and  French,  and  made  the  Canadians  sensible  that  he 
really  came  to  secure  their  rights,  not  to  molest  them.  Inter- 
cepted letters  acquainted  him  with  Arnpld's  arrival  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Quebec,,  and  the   great  alarm  of  "  the  king's 


362  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

friends,"  who  expected  to  be  besieged:  '^wbicb,  witb  the 
blessing  of  God,  they  shall  be,"  said  Montgomery,  "if  the 
severe  season  holds  off,  and  I  can  prevail  on  the  troops  to  ac- 
company me." 

His  great  immediate  object  was  the  capture  of  Carleton, 
which  would  form  a  triumphal  close  to  the  enterprise,  and 
might  decide  the  fate  of  Canada.  The  flotilla  in  which  the 
general  was  embarked,  had  made  repeated  attempts  to  escape 
down  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  but  had  as  often  been  driven  back  by 
the  batteries  thrown  up  by  the  Americans  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sorel.  It  now  lay  anchored  about  fifteen  miles  above  that 
river,  and  Montgomery  prepared  to  attack  it  with  bateaux  and 
light  artillery,  so  as  to  force  it  down  upon  the  batteries. 

Carleton  saw  his  imminent  peril.  Disguising  himself  as  a 
Canadian  voyager,  he  set  off  on  a  dark  night  accompanied  by 
six  peasants,  in  a  boat  with  muffled  oars,  which  he  assisted  to 
pull,  slipped  quietly  and  silently  past  all  the  batteries  and 
guard-boats,  and  effected  his  escape  to  Three  Rivers,  where  he 
embarked  in  a  vessel  for  Quebec.  After  his  departure  the 
flotilla  surrendered,  and  all  those  who  had  taken  refuge  on  board 
were  made  prisoners  of  war.  Among  them  was  General  Pres- 
cott,  late  commander  of  Montreal. 

Montgomery  now  placed  garrisons  in  Montreal,  St.  John's, 
and  Chamblee,  and  made  final  preparations  for  descending  the 
St.  Lawrence,  and  cooperating  with  Arnold  against  Quebec. 
To  his  disappointment  and  deep  chagrin,  he  found  but  a  hand- 
ful of  his  troops  disposed  to  accompany  him.  Some  pleaded 
ill-health ;  the  term  of  enlistment  of  many  had  expired,  and 
they  were  bent  on  returning  home  ;  and  others,  who  had  no 
such  excuses  to  make,  became  exceedingly  turbulent,  and  in- 
deed mutinous.  Nothing  but  a  sense  of  public  duty,  and  grati- 
tude to  Congress  for  an  unsought  commission,  had  induced 
Montgomery  to  engage  in  the  service  ;  wearied  by  the  con- 
tinual vexations  which  beset  it,  he  avowed,  in  a  letter  to 
Schuyler,  his  determination  to  retire  as  soon  as  the  intended 
expedition  against  Quebec  was  finished.  "  Will  not  your  health 
permit  you  to  reside  at  Montreal  this  winter  ?  "  writes  he  to 
Schuyler  :  "  I  must  go  home,  if  I  walk  by  the  side  of  the  lake. 
I  am  weary  of  power,  and  totally  want  that  patience  and  temper 
so  requisite  for  such  a  command."  Much  of  the  insubordina- 
tion of  the  troops  he  attributed  to  the  want  of  tact  and  cultiva- 
tion in  their  officers,  who  had  been  suddenly  advanced  from  in- 
ferior stations  and  coarse  employments.  "  An  affair  happened 
yesterday,"  writes  he  to  Schuyler  on  the  24th  of  November, 
^'  which  had  very  near  sent  me  home.     A  number  of  officers 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  363 

presumed  to  remonstrate  against  the  indulgence  I  had  given 
some  of  the  king's  troops.  Such  an  insult  I  could  not  bear, 
and  immediately  resigned.  To-day  they  qualified  it  by  such 
an  apology,  as  put  it  in  my  power  to  resume  the  command."  In 
the  same  spirit  he  writes  :  "  I  wish  some  method  could  be  fallen 
upon  for  engaging  gentlemen  to  serve.  A  point  of  honor  and 
more  knowledge  of  the  world,  to  be  found  in  that  class  of  men, 
would  greatly  reform  discipline,  and  render  the  troops  much 
more  tractable." 

The  troops  which  had  given  Montgomery  so  much  annoy- 
ance and  refused  to  continue  with  him  in  Canada,  soon  began 
to  arrive  at  Ticonderoga.  Schuyler,  in  a  letter  to  Congress, 
gives  a  half  querulous,  half  humorous  account  of  their  conduct. 
"  About  three  hundred  of  the  troops  raised  in  Connecticut, 
I)assed  here  within  a  few  days.  An  unhappy  home-sickness 
prevails.  These  all  came  down  as  invalids,  not  one  willing  to 
re-engage  for  the  winter's  service ;  and,  unable  to  get  any  work 
done  by  them,  I  discharged  them  en  groupe.  Of  all  the  spe- 
cifics ever  invented  for  any,  there  is  none  so  efficacious  as  a 
discharge  for  this  prevailing  disorder.  No  sooner  was  it  ad- 
ministered but  it  perfected  the  cure  of  nine  out  of  ten ;  who, 
refusing  to  wait  for  boats  to  go  by  the  way  of  Lake  George, 
slung  their  heavy  packs,  crossed  the  lake  at  this  place,  and 
undertook  a  march  of  two  hundred  miles  with  the  greatest  good- 
will and  alacrity." 

This  home-sickness  in  rustic  soldiers,  after  a  rough  campaign, 
was  natural  enough,  and  seems  only  to  have  provoked  the  testy 
and  subacid  humor  of  Schuyler ;  but  other  instances  of  conduct 
roused  his  indignation. 

A  schooner  and  tow  galley  arrived  at  Crown  Point,  with  up- 
wards of  a  hundred  persons.  They  were  destitute  of  provisions ; 
none  were  to  be  had  at  the  Point,  and  the  ice  prevented  them 
from  penetrating  to  Ticonderoga.  In  starving  condition  they 
sent  an  express  to  General  Schuyler,  imploring  relief.  He  imme- 
diately ordered  three  captains  of  General  Wooster's  regiment, 
with  a  considerable  body  of  men  in  bateaux,  to  "  attempt  a  relief 
for  the  unhappy  sufferers."  To  his  surprise  and  disgust,  they 
manifested  the  utmost  unwillingness  to  comply,  and  made  a  va- 
riety of  excuses,  which  he  spurned  at  as  frivolous,  and  as  evinc- 
ing the  greatest  want  of  humanity.  He  expressed  himself  to  that 
effect  the  next  day,  in  a  general  order,  adding  the  following 
stinging  words  ;  "  The  general,  therefore,  not  daring  to  trust 
a  matter  of  so  much  importance  to  men  of  so  little  feeling,  has 
ordered  Lieutenant  E,iker,  of  Col.  Holmes'  regiment,  to  make 
the  attempt.  He  received  the  order  with  the  alacrity  becom- 
ing a  gentleman,  an  officer,  and  a  Christian." 


364  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

This  high-minded  rebuke,  given  in  so  public  a  manner,  rank- 
led in  the  breasts  of  those  whose  conduct  had  merited  it,  and 
insured  to  Schuyler  that  persevering  hostility  with  which  mean 
minds  revenge  the  exposure  of  their  meanness. 


CHAPTEE  LI. 

■HIS 

EULOGIUM  OF  ARNOLD. SCHUYLER  AND  MONTGOMERY  TALK 

OF  RESIGNING. EXPOSTULATIONS  OF  WASHINGTON.   THEIR 

EFFECT. — Schuyler's  conduct  to  a  captive  foe. 

We  have  endeavored  to  compress  into  a  succinct  account 
various  events  of  the  invasion  of  Canada,  furnished  to  Wash- 
ington by  letters  from  Schuyler  and  Arnold.  The  tidings  of 
the  capture  of  Montreal  had  given  him  the  liveliest  satisfaction. 
He  now  looked  forward  to  equal  success  in  the  expedition 
against  Quebec.  In  a  letter  to  Schuyler,  he  passed  a  high 
eulogium  on  Arnold.  "  The  merit  of  this  gentleman  is  certainly 
great,"  writes  he,  "  and  I  heartily  wish  that  fortune  may  dis- 
tinguish him  as  one  of  her  favorites.  I  am  convinced  that  he 
will  do  everything  that  prudence  and  valor  shall  suggest  to  add 
to  the  success  of  our  arms,  and  for  reducing  Quebec  to  our 
possession.  Should  he  not  be  able  to  accomplish  so  desirable  a 
work  with  the  forces  he  has,  I  flatter  myself  that  it  will  be 
effected  when  General  Montgomery  joins  him,  and  our  conquest 
of  Canada  will  be  complete." 

Certain  passages  of  Schuyler's  letters,  however,  gave  him 
deep  concern,  wherein  that  general  complained  of  the  embar- 
rassments and  annoyances  he  had  experienced  from  the  insubor- 
dination of  the  army.  "  Habituated  to  order,"  said  he,  "  I  can- 
not without  pain  see  that  disregard  of  discipline,  confusion  and 
inattention,  which  reign  so  generally  in  this  quarter,  and  I  am 
determined  to  retire.  Of  this  resolution  I  have  advised  Con- 
gress." 

He  had  indeed  done  so.  In  communicating  to  the  President 
of  Congress  the  complaints  of  General  Montgomery,  and  his 
intention  to  retire,  "  my  sentiments,"  said  he,  "  exactly  coincide 
with  his.  I  shall,  with  him,  do  everything  in  my  power  to 
put  a  finishing  stroke  to  the  campaign,  and  make  the  best  ar- 
rangement in  my  power,  in  order  to  insure  success  to  the  next. 
This  done,  I  must  beg  leave  to  retire." 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  B65 

Congress,  however,  was  too  well  aware  of  his  value,  readily 
to  dispense  with  his  services.  His  letter  produced  a  prompt 
resolution  expressive  of  their  high  sense  of  his  attention  and 
perseverance,  "  which  merited  the  thanks  of  the  United  Col- 
onies.'' He  had  alleged  his  impaired  health, — they  regretted 
the  injuries  it  had  sustained  in  the  service,  but  begged  he 
would  not  insist  on  a  measure  "  which  would  deprive  America 
of  the  benefits  of  his  zeal  and  abilities,  and  rob  him  of  the 
honor  of  completing  the  work  he  had  so  happily  begun." 

What,  however,  produced  a  greater  effect  upon  Schuyler 
than  any  encomium  or  entreaty  on  the  part  of  Congress,  were 
the  expostulations  of  Washington,  inspired  by  strong  friend- 
ship and  kindred  sympathies.  "I  am  exceedingly  sorry," 
writes  the  latter,  "  to  find  you  so  much  embarrassed  by  the  dis- 
regard of  discipline,  confusion  and  want  of  order  among  the 
troops,  as  to  have  occasioned  you  to  mention  to  Congress  an 
inclination  to  retire.  I  know  that  your  complaints  are  too 
well  founded,  but  would  willingly  hope  that  nothing  will  in- 
duce you  to  quit  the  service I  have  met  with 

difficulties  of  the  same  sort,  and  such  as  I  never  expected ;  but 
they  must  be  borne  with.  The  cause  we  are  engaged  in  is  so 
just  and  righteous,  that  we  must  try  to  rise  superior  to  every 
obstacle  in  its  support ;  and,  therefore,  I  beg  that  you  will  not 
think  of  resigning,  unless  you  have  carried  your  application  to 
Congress  too  far  to  recede." 

And  in  another  letter  he  makes  a  still  stronger  appeal  to  his 
patriotism.  "  I  am  sorry  that  you  and  General  Montgomery 
incline  to  quit  the  service.  Let  me  ask  you,  sir,  when  is  the 
time  for  brave  men  to  exert  themselves  in  the  cause  of  liberty 
and  their  country,  if  this  is  not  ?  Should  any  difficulties  that 
they  may  have  to  encounter  at  this  important  crisis  deter 
them  ?  God  knows  there  is  not  a  difficulty  that  you  both  very 
justly  complain  of,  that  I  have  not  in  an  eminent  degree  ex- 
perienced, that  I  am  not  every  day  experiencing ;  but  we  must 
bear  up  against  them,  and  make  the  best  of  mankind,  as  they 
are,  since  we  cannot  have  them  as  we  wish.  Let  me,  there- 
fore, conjure  you,  and  Mr.  Montgomery,  to  lay  aside  such 
thoughts — as  thoughts  injurious  to  yourselves,  and  extremely 
so  to  your  country,  which  calls  aloud  for  gentlemen  of  your 
ability." 

The  noble  appeal  went  straight  to  the  heart  of  Schuyler, 
and  brought  out  a  magnanimous  reply.  ^  ^  I  do  not  hesitate," 
writes  he,  "  to  answer  my  dear  general's  question  in  the  affirm- 
ative, by  declaring  that  now  or  never  is  the  time  for  every 
virtuous  American  to  exert  himself  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and 


366  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

his  country  ;  and  that  it  is  become  a  duty  cheerfully  to  sacrifice 
the  sweets  of  domestic  felicity  to  attain  the  honest  and  glorious 
end  America  has  in  view." 

In  the  same  letter  he  reveals  in  confidence  the  true  cause  of 
his  wish  to  retire  from  an  official  station ;  it  was  the  annoyance 
he  had  suffered  throughout  the  campaign  from  sectional  preju- 
dice and  jealousy.  "  I  could  point  out  particular  persons  of 
rank  in  the  army,"  writes  he,  "  who  have  frequently  de- 
clared that  the  general  commanding  in  this  quarter  ought 
to  be  of  the  colony  from  whence  the  majority  of  the  troops  came. 
But  it  is  not  from  opinions  or  principles  of  individuals  that  I 
have  drawn  the  following  conclusion  :  that  troops  from  the 
colony  of  Connecticut  will  not  bear  with  a  general  from  another 
colony ;  it  is  from  the  daily  and  common  conversation  of  all 
ranks  of  people  from  that  colony,  both  in  and  out  of  the  army ; 
and  I  assure  you  that  I  sincerely  lament  that  people  of  so  much 
public  virtue  should  be  actuated  by  such  an  unbecoming  jeal- 
ousy, founded  on  such  a  narrow  principle."  Having  made  this 
declaration,  he  adds,  "  although  I  frankly  own  that  I  feel  a  re- 
sentment, yet  I  shall  continue  to  sacrifice  it  to  a  nobler  object, 
the  weal  of  that  country  in  which  I  have  drawn  the  breath  of 
life,  resolved  ever  to  seek,  with  unwearied  assiduity,  for  oppor- 
tunities to  fulfill  my  duty  to  it." 

It  is  with  pride  we  have  quoted  so  frequently  the  correspond- 
ence of  these  two  champions  of  our  Revolution,  as  it  lays  open 
their  hearts,  and  shows  the  lofty  patriotism  by  which  they  wexe 
animated. 

A  letter  from  John  Adams  to  General  Thomas,  alleges  as 
one  cause  of  Schuyler's  unpopularity  with  the  eastern  troops, 
the  "  politeness  "  shown  by  him  to  Canadian  and  British  pris- 
oners ;  which  "  enabled  them  and  their  ministerial  friends  to 
impose  upon  him."  * 

The  "  politeness  "  in  fact,  was  that  noble  courtesy  which  a 
high-minded  soldier  extends  towards  a  captive  foe.  If  his 
courtesy  was  imposed  upon,  it  only  proved  that,  incapable  of 
double-dealing  himself,  he  suspected  it  not  in  others.  All 
generous  natures  are  liable  to  imposition ;  their  warm  impulses 
being  too  quick  for  selfish  caution.  It  is  the  cold,  the  calculat- 
ing, and  the  mean,  whose  distrustful  wariness  is  never  taken 
in. 

*  Letter  book  of  Gen.  Thomas.    MS. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  367 


CHAPTER  LII. 

DIFFICULTIES  IN    FILLING  UP  THE    ARMY. — l^HE    CONNECTICUT 

TROOPS  PERSIST  IN  GOING  HOME. THEIR  RECEPTION  THERE. 

TIMELY  ARRIVAL  OF  SPOILS  IN    THE  CAMP. PUTNAM  AND 

THE  PRIZE  MORTAR. A  MARAUD  BY  AMERICANS. REBUKED 

BY  WASHINGTON. — CORRESPONDENCE  OF  WASHINGTON  WITH 
GENERAL  HOWE  ABOUT  THE  TREATMENT  OF  ETHAN  ALLEN.— 

FRATERNAL  ZEAL  OF  LEVI  ALLEN. TREATMENT  OF  GENERAL 

PRESCOTT. — PREPARATIONS  TO  BOMBARD  BOSTON. BATTERY 

AT  LECHMERE's  point. PRAYER  OF  PUTNAM  FOR  POWDER. 

The  forming  even  of  the  skeleton  of  an  army  under  the  new 
regulations,  had  been  a  work  of  infinite  difficulty  ;  to  fill  it  up 
was  still  more  difficult.  The  first  burst  of  revolutionary  zeal 
had  passed  away :  enthusiasm  had  been  chilled  by  the  inaction 
and  monotony  of  a  long  encampment, — an  encampment,  more- 
over, destitute  of  those  comforts  which,  in  experienced  warfare, 
are  provided  by  a  well-regulated  commissariat.  The  troops  had 
suffered  privations  of  every  kind,  want  of  food,  clothing,  pro- 
visions. They  looked  forward  with  dismay  to  the  rigors  of 
winter,  and  longed  for  their  rustic  homes  and  their  family  fire- 
sides. 

Apprehending  that  some  of  them  would  incline  to  go  home 
when  the  time  of  their  enlistment  expired,  Washington  sum- 
moned the  general  officers  to  head-quarters,  and  invited  a  dele- 
gation of  tke  General  Court  to  be  present,  to  adopt  measures 
for  the  defense  and  support  of  the  lines.  The  result  of  their 
deliberations  was  an  order  that  three  thousand  of  the  minute 
men  and  militia  of  Massachusetts,  and  two  thousand  from  New 
Hampshire,  should  be  at  Cambridge  by  the  tenth  of  December, 
to  relieve  the  Connecticut  regiments,  and  supply  the  deficiency 
that  would  be  caused  by  their  departure,  and  by  the  absence  of 
others  on  furlough. 

With  this  arrangement  the  Connecticut  troops  were  made 
acquainted,  and,  as  the  time  of  most  of  them  would  not  be  out 
before  the  10th,  they  were  ordered  to  remain  in  camp  until  re- 
lieved. Their  officers  assured  Washington  that  he  need  appre- 
hend no  defection  on  the  part  of  their  men  ;  they  would  not 
leave  the  lines.  The  officers  themselves  were  probably  mistaken 
in  their  opinion  of  their  men,  for  on  the  1st  of  December,  many 


368  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  the  latter,  some  of  whom  belonged  to  Putnam's  regiment, 
resolved  to  go  home  immediately.  Efforts  were  made  to  prevent 
them,  but  in  vain ;  several  carried  off  with  them  their  arms 
and  ammunition.  Washington  sent  a  list  of  their  names  to 
Governor  Trumbull.  "  I  submit  it  to  your  judgment/'  writes 
he,  "  whether  an  example  should  not  be  made  of  these  men  who 
have  deserted  the  cause  of  their  country  at  this  critical  juncture 
when  the  enemy  are  receiving  reinforcements  ?  " 

We  anticipate  the  reply  of  Governor  Trumbull,  received 
several  days  subsequently.  "  The  late  extraordinary  and  rep- 
rehensible conduct  of  some  of  the  troops  of  this  colony,"  writes 
he,  "  impresses  me,  and  the  minds  of  many  of  our  people,  with 
great  surprise  and  indignation,  since  the  treatment  they  met 
with,  and  the  order  and  request  made  to  them,  were  so  reason- 
able, and  apparently  necessary  for  the  defense  of  our  common 
cause,  and  safety  of  our  rights  and  privileges,  for  which  they 
freely  engaged." 

We  will  here  add,  that  the  homeward-bound  warriors  seem  to 
have  run  the  gauntlet  along  the  road;  for  their  conduct  on 
quitting  the  army  drew  upon  them  such  indignation,  that  they 
could  hardly  get  anything  to  eat  on  their  journey,  and  when 
they  arrived  at  home  they  met  with  such  a  reception  (to  the 
credit  of  the  Connecticut  women  be  it  recorded),  that  many  were 
soon  disposed  to  return  again  to  the  camp."  * 

On  the  very  day  after  the  departure  homeward  of  these  troops 
and  while  it  was  feared  their  example  would  be  contagious,  a 
long,  lumbering  train  of;  wagons,  laden  with  ordnance  and  mili- 
tary stores,  and  decorated  with  flags,  came  wheeling  into  the 
camp  escorted  by  continental  troops  and  country  militia.  They 
were  part  of  the  cargo  of  a  large  brigantine  laden  with  muni- 
tions of  war,  captured  and  sent  in  to  Cape  Ann  by  the  schooner 
Xee,  Captain  Manly,  one  of  the  cruisers  sent  out  by  Washing- 
ton. "  Such  universal  joy  ran  through  the  whole  camp," 
writes  an  officer,  "  as  if  each  one  grasped  a  victory  in  his  own 
hands." 

Beside  the  ordnance  captured,  there  were  two  thousand 
stands  of  arms,  one  hundred  thousand  flints,  thirty-thousand 
round  shot,  and  thirty-two  tons  of  musket-balls. 

"  Surely  nothing,"  writes  Washington,  "  ever  came  more  a 
propos" 

It  was  indeed  a  cheering  incident,  and  was  eagerly  turned  to 
account.  Among  the  ordnance  was  a  huge  brass  mortar  of  a 
new  construction,  weighing  near  three  thousand   pounds.     It 

*  See  Letter  of  G-en.  (^reene  to  Sj^muel  Ward,  Am.  Archives^  4th 
Series,  vol  ivt 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  369 

was  considered  a  glorious  trophy,  and  there  was  a  resolve  to 
christen  it.  Mifflin,  Washington's  secretary,  suggested  the 
name.  The  mortar  was  fixed  in  a  bed ;  old  Putnam  mounted 
it,  dashed  on  it  a  bottle  of  rum,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  "  Con- 
gress." The  shouts  which  rent  the  air  were  heard  in  Boston. 
When  the  meaning  of  them  were  explained  to  the  British,  they 
observed,  that  "should  their  expected  reinforcements  arrive  in 
time,  the  rebels  would  pay  dear  in  the  spring  for  all  their  petty 
triumphs." 

With  Washington,  this  transient  gleam  of  nautical  success 
was  soon  overshadowed  by  the  conduct  of  the  cruisers  he  had  sent 
to  the  St.  Lawrence.  Failing  to  intercept  the  brigantines,  the 
object  of  their  cruise,  they  landed  on  the  island  of  St.  John's, 
plundered  the  house  of  the  governor  and  several  private  dwell- 
ings, and  brought  off  three  of  the  principal  inhabitants  prison- 
ers ;  one  of  whom.  Mr.  Callbeck,  was  president  of  the  council, 
and  acted  as  governor. 

These  gentlemen  made  a  memorial  to  Washington  of  this 
scandalous  maraud.  He  instantly  ordered  a  restoration  of  the 
effects  which  had  been  pillaged :  of  his  conduct  towards  the 
gentlemen  personally,  we  may  judge  by  the  following  note  ad- 
dressed to  him  by  Mr.  Callbeck  : — 

"  I  should  ill  deserve  the  generous  treatment  which  your 
Excellency  has  been  pleased  to  show  me,  had  I  not  the  grati- 
tude to  acknowledge  so  great  a  favor.  I  cannot  ascribe  any 
part  of  it  to  my  own  merit,  but  must  impute  the  whole  to  the 
philanthropy  and  humane  disposition  that  so  truly  characteriz 
General  Washington.  Be  so  obliging,  therefore,  as  to  accept 
the  only  return  in  my  powder,  that  of  my  most  grateful  thanks."  ^ 

Shortly  after  the  foregoing  occurrence,  information  was  re- 
ceived of  the  indignities  which  had  been  heaped  upon  Colonel 
Ethan  Allen,  when  captured  at  Montreal  by  General  Prescott, 
who,  himself,  was  now  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 
It  touched  Washington  on  a  point  on  which  he  was  most  sensi- 
tive and  tenacious,  the  treatment  of  American  officers  when 
captured;  and  produced  the  following  letter  from  him  to 
General  Howe : — 

"  Sir, — ^We  have  just  been  informed  of  a  circumstance  which, 
were  it  not  so  well  authenticated,  I  should  scarcely  think 
credible.  It  is  that  Colonel  Allen,  who,  with  his  small  party, 
was  defeated  and  made  prisoner  near  Montreal,  has  been  treated 
without  regard  to  decency,  humanity,  or  the  rules  of  war ;  that 
he  has  been  thrown  into  irons,  and  suffers  all  the  hardships  in- 
flicted upon  common  felons. 

*  Sparks.     Washington's  Writings,  vol.  ill.  p.  194. 


370  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

"  I  think  it  my  duty,  sir,  to  demand,  and  do  expect  from  you, 
an  eclaircissement  on  this  subject.  At  the  same  time,  I  flatter 
myself,  from  the  character  which  Mr.  Howe  bears  as  a  man  of 
honor,  gentleman,  and  soldier,  that  my  demand  will  meet  with 
his  approbation.  I  must  take  the  liberty,  also,  of  informing  you 
that  I  shall  consider  your  silence  as  a  confirmation  of  the  re- 
port, and  further  assuring  you,  that  whatever  treatment  Col- 
onel Allen  receives,  whatever  fate  he  undergoes,  such  exactly 
shall  be  the  treatment  and  fate  of  Brigadier  Prescott,  now  in 
our  hands.  The  law  of  retaliation  is  not  only  justifiable  in  the 
eyes  of  God  and  man,  but  absolutely  a  duty,  which,  in  our 
present  circumstances,  we  owe  to  our  relations,  friends,  and 
fellow-citizens. 

"  Permit  me  to  add,  sir,  that  we  have  all  here  the  highest 
regard  and  reverence  for  your  great  personal  qualities  and  at- 
tainments, and  the  Americans  in  general  esteem  it  as  not  the 
least  of  their  misfortunes,  that  the  name  of  Howe,  a  name  so 
dear  to  them,  should  appear  at  the  head  of  the  catalogue  of  the 
instruments  employed  by  a  wicked  ministry  for  their  destruc- 
tion." 

General  Howe  felt  acutely  the  sorrowful  reproach  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  letter.  It  was  a  reiteration  of  what  had  al- 
ready been  expressed  by  Congress  ;  in  the  present  instance  it 
produced  irritation,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  reply. 

"  Sir, — In  answer  to  your  letter,  I  am  to  acquaint  you  that 
my  command  does  not  extend  to  Canada.  Not  having  any  ac- 
counts wherein  the  name  of  Allen  is  mentioned,  I  cannot  give 
you  the  smallest  satisfaction  upon  the  subject  of  your  letter. 
But  trusting  Major-general  Carleton's  conduct  will  never  incur 
censure  upon  any  occasion,  I  am  to  conclude  in  the  instance  of 
your. inquiry,  that  he  has  not  forfeited  his  past  pretensions  to 
decency  and  humanity. 

"  It  is  with  regret,  considering  the  character  jou  have  always 
maintained  among  your  friends,  as  a  gentleman  of  the  strictest 
honor  and  delicacy,  that  I  find  cause  to  resent  a  sentence  in  the 
conclusion  of  your  letter,  big  with  invective  against  my  su- 
periors, and  insulting  to  myself,  which  should  obstruct  any 
further  intercourse  between  us.     I  am,  sir,  etc." 

In  transmitting  a  copy  of  his  letter  to  the  President  of  Con- 
gress, Washington  observed :  "  My  reason  for  pointing  out 
Brigadier-general  Prescott  as  the  object  who  is  to  suffer  for  Mr. 
Allen's  fate,   is,  that  by  letters  from   General    Schuyler   and 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  371 

copies  of  letters  from  General  Montgomery  to  Schuyler,  I  am 
given  to  understand  that  Prescott  is  the  cause  of  Allen's  suffer- 
ings. I  thought  it  best  to  be  decisive  on  the  occasion,  as  did 
the  generals  whom  I  consulted  thereon." 

For  the  sake  of  continuity  we  will  anticipate  a  few  facts  con- 
nected with  the  story  of  Ethan  Allen.  Within  a  few  weeks 
after  the  preceding  correspondence,  Washington  received  a  letter 
from  Levi  Allen,  a  brother  to  the  colonel,  and  of  like  enterpris- 
ing and  enthusiastic  character.  It  was  dated  from  Salisbury  in 
Connecticut ;  and  inclosed  affidavits  of  the  harsh  treatment  his 
brother  had  experienced,  and  of  his  being  confined  on  board  of 
the  Gaspee,  "  with  a  bar  of  iron  fixed  to  one  of  his  legs  and  iron 
to  his  hands."  Levi  was  bent  upon  effecting  his  deliverance, 
and  the  mode  proposed  was  in  unison  with  the  bold,  but  wild 
schemes  of  the  colonel.  We  quote  his  crude,  but  characteristic 
letter. 

"  Have  some  thoughts  of  going  to  England,  incognito^  after 
my  brother ;  but  am  not  positively  certain  he  is  sent  there, 
though  believe  he  is.  Beg  your  Excellency  will  favor  me  with 
a  line,  and  acquaint  me  of  any  intelligence  concerning  him,  and 
if  your  Excellency  please,  your  opinion  of  the  expediency  of 
going  after  him,  and  whether  your  Excellency  would  think 
proper  to  advance  any  money  for  that  purpose,  as  my  brother 
was  a  man  blessed  with  more  fortitude  than  fortune.  Your 
Excellency  may  think,  at  first  thought,  I  can  do  nothing  by 
going  to  England ;  I  feel  as  if  I  could  do  a  great  deal,  by 
raising  a  mob  in  London,  bribing  the  jailer,  or  by  getting  into 
some  servile  employment  with  the  jailer,  and  over-faithfulness 
make  myself  master  of  the  key,  or  at  least  be  able  to  lay  my 
ihand  on  it  some  night.  I  beg  your  Excellency  will  countenance 
ly  going  ;  can  muster  more  than  one  hundred  pounds,  my  own 
iproperty  ;  shall  regard  spending  that  no  more  than  one  copper. 
Your  Excellency  must  know  Allen  was  not  only  a  brother,  but 
a  real  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother." 

In  a  postscript  he  adds,  "  cannot  live  without  going  to  Eng- 
land, if  my  brother  is  sent  there." 

In  reply,  Washington  intimated  a  belief  that  the  colonel  had 
been  sent  to  England,  but  discountenanced  Levi's  wild  project 
of  following  him  thither;  as  there  was  no  probability  of  its 
success,  and  he  would  be  running  himself  into  danger  without 
a  prospect  of  rendering  service  to  his  brother. 

The  measure  of  retaliation  mentioned  in  Washington's  letter 
to  Howe,  was  actually  meted  out  by  Congress  on  the  arrival  of 
General  Prescott  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  ordered  into  close 
confinement  in  the  jail ;  though  not  put  in  irons.    He  was  subse- 


372  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 

quently  released  from  confinement  on  account  of  ill-health,  and 
was  treated  by  some  Philadelphia  families  'with  unmerited 
hospitality.* 

At  the  time  of  the  foregoing  correspondence  with  Howe, 
Washington  was  earnestly  occupied  preparing  works  for  the 
bombardment  of  Boston,  should  that  measure  be  resolved  upon 
by  Congress.  General  Putnam,  in  the  preceding  month,  had 
taken  possession  in  the  night  of  Cobble  Hill  without  molestation 
from  the  enemy,  though  a  commanding  eminence  ;  and  in  two 
days  had  constructed  a  work  which,  from  its  strength,  was 
named  Putnam's  impregnable  fortress. 

He  was  now  engaged  on  another  work  on  Lechmere  Point,  to 
be  connected  with  the  works  on  Cobble  Hill  by  a  bridge  thrown 
across  Willis'  Creek,  and  a  covered  way.  Lechmere  Point  is 
immediately  opposite  the  west  part  of  Boston ;  and  the  /Scar- 
borough ship-of-war  was  anchored  near  it.  Putnam  availed 
himself  of  a  dark  and  foggy  day  (Dec.  17),  to  commence  opera- 
tions, and  broke  ground  with  four  hundred  men,  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  on  a  hill  at  the  Point.  "  The  mist,"  says  a 
contemporary  account,  "  was  so  great  as  to  prevent  the  enemy 
from  discovering  what  he  was  about  until  near  twelve  o'clock, 
when  it  cleared  up,  and  opened  to  their  view  our  whole  party  at 
the  Point,  and  another  at  the  causeway  throwing  a  bridge  over 
the  creek.  The  /Scarborough,  anchored  off  the  Point,  poured 
in  a  broadside.  The  enemy  from  Boston  threw  shells.  The 
garrison  at  Cobble  Hill  returned  fire.  Our  men  were  obliged 
to  decamp  from  the  Point,  but  the  work  was  resumed  by  the 
brave  old  general  at  night." 

On  the  next  morning  a  cannonade  from  Cobble  Hill  obliged 
the  /Scarborough  to  weigh  anchor  and  drop  down  below  the 
ferry  ;  and  General  Heath  was  detached  with  a  party  of  men  to 
carry  on  the  work  which  Putnam  had  commenced.  The  enemy 
resumed  their  fire.      Sentinels  were  placed  to  give  notice  of 

*  Thomas  Walker,  a  merchant  of  Montreal,  who,  accused  of  traitor- 
ous dealings  with  the  Americans,  had  been  thrown  into  prison  during 
Prescott's  sway,  and  his  country-house  burnt  down,  undertook  a  jour- 
ney to  Philadelphia  in  the  depth  of  winter,  when  he  understood  the 
general  was  a  captive  there,  trusting  to  obtain  satisfaction  for  his  ill- 
treatment.  To  his  great  surprise  he  found  Mr.  Prescott  lodged  in  the 
best  tavern  of  the  place,  walking  or  riding  at  large  through  Philadelphia 
and  Bucks  Counties,  feasting  with  gentlemen  of  the  first  rank  in  the 
province  and  keeping  a  levee  for  the  reception  of  the  grandees.  In  con- 
sequence of  such  unaccountable  phenomena,  and  the  little  prospect  of 
his  obtaining  any  adequate  redress  in  the  present  unsettled  state  of  pub- 
lic affairs,  Mr.  Walker  has  returned  to  Montreal. — Am.  Archives,  4th 
1178. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  373 

a  sliot  or  shell ;  the  men  would  crouch  down  or  dodge  it,  and 
continue  on  with  their  work.  The  fire  ceased  in  the  afternoon, 
and  Washington  visited  the  hill  accomjjanied  by  several  officers, 
and  inspected  the  progress  of  the  work.  It  was  to  consist  of 
two  redoubts,  on  one  of  which  was  to  be  a  mortar  battery.  There , 
was  as  yet  a  deficiency  of  ordnance ;  but  the  prize  mortar  was 
to  be  mounted  which  Putnam  had  recently  christened  "  The 
Congress."  From  the  spirit  with  which  the  work  was  carried 
on,  Washington  trusted  that  it  would  soon  be  completed,  "  and 
then,"  said  he,  "  if  we  have  powder  to  sport  with,  and  Con- 
gress gives  the  word,  Boston  can  be  bombarded  from  this 
point." 

For  several  days  the  labor  at  the  works  was  continued ;  the 
redoubts  were  thrown  up,  and  a  covered  way  was  constructed 
leading  down  to  the  bridge.  All  this  was  done  notwithstand- 
ing the  continual  fire  of  the  enemy.  The  letter  of  a  British 
officer  gives  his  idea  of  the  efficiency  of  the  work. 

"  The  rebels  for  some  days  have  been  erecting  a  battery  on 
Phipps'  Farm.  The  new  constructed  mortar  taken  on  board 
the  ordnance  brig,  we  are  told,  will  be  mounted  upon  it,  and 
we  expect  a  warm  salute  from  the  shells,  another  part  of  that 
vessel's  cargo ;  so  that,  in  spite  of  her  capture,  we  are  likely  to 
be  complimented  with  the  contents  of  her  lading. 

"  If  the  rebels  can  complete  their  battery  this  town  will  be  on 
fire  about  our  ears  a  few  hours  after,  all  our  buildings  being  of 
wood,  or  a  mixture  of  brick  and  wood-work.  Had  the  rebels 
erected  their  battery  on  the  other  si'de  of  the  town,  at  Dor- 
chester, the  admiral  and  all  his  bombs  would  have  made  the 
first  blaze,  and  the  burning  of  the  town  would  have  followed. 
If  we  cannot  destroy  the  rebel  battery  by  our  guns  we  must 
march  out  and  take  it  sword  in  hand." 

Putnam  anticipated  great  effects  from  this  work,  and  es- 
pecially from  his  grand  mortar,  "  The  Congress."  Shells  there 
were  in  abundance  for  a  bombardment ;  the  only  thing  wanting 
was  a  supply  of  powder.  One  of  the  officers,  writing  of  the 
unusual  mildness  of  the  winter,  observes  :  "  Everything  thaws 
here  except  old  Put.  He  is  still  as  hard  as  ever,  crying  out 
for  powder — powder — powder.     Ye  gods,  give  us  powder." 


374  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

MOUNT  VERNON    IN  DANGER. MRS.    WASHINGTON  INVITED    TO 

THE    CAMP. LUND  WASHINGTON,    THE    GENERAL's  AGENT. 

TERMS  ON  WHICH  HE  SERVES. INSTRUCTED  TO  KEEP  UP  THE 

HOSPITALITY  OF  THE    HOUSE. JOURNEY  OF    MRS.  WASHING- 
TON TO  CAMP. HER  EQUIPAGE  AND  LIVERIES. ARRIVAL  AT 

CAMP. DOMESTIC  AFFAIRS  AT    HEAD-QUARTERS. GAYETIES 

IN  CAMP. A  BRAWL  BETWEEN   ROUND-JACKETS    AND  RIFLE- 
SHIRTS. 

Amid  the  various  concerns  of  the  war,  and  the  multiplied 
perplexities  of  the  camp,  the  thoughts  of  Washington  continu- 
ally reverted  to  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  A 
constant  correspondence  was  kept  up  between  him  and  his 
agent,  Mr.  Lund  Washington,  who  had  charge  of  his  various 
estates.  The  general  gave  clear  and  minute  directions  as  to 
their  management,  and  the  agent  rendered  as  clear  and  minute 
returns  of  everything  that  had  been  done  in  consequence. 

According  to  recent  accounts.  Mount  Vernon  had  been  con- 
sidered in  danger.  Lord  Dunmore  was  exercising  martial  law 
in  the  Ancient  Dominion,  and  it  was  feared  that  the  favorite 
abode  of  the  "  rebel  commander-in-chief  "  would  be  marked  out 
for  hostility,  and  that  the  enemy  might  land  from  their  ships 
in  the  Potomac,  and  lay  it  waste.  Washington's  brother,  John 
Augustine,  had  entreated  Mrs.  Washington  to  leave  it.  The 
people  of  Loudoun  had  advised  her  to  seek  refuge  beyond  the  Blue 
Ridge,  and  had  offered  to  send  a  guard  to  escort  her.  She  had 
declined  the  offer,  not  considering  herself  in  danger.  Lund 
Washington  was  equally  free  from  apprehensions  on  the  sub- 
ject. "  Lord  Dunmore,"  writes  he,  "  will  hardly  himself  vent- 
ure up  this  river,  nor  do  I  believe  he  will  send  on  that  errand. 
You  may  depend  I  will  be  watchful,  and  upon  the  least  alarm 
persuade  her  to  move." 

Though  alive  to  everthing  concerning  Mount  Vernon,  Wash- 
ington agreed  with  them  in  deeming  it  in  no  present  danger  of 
molestation  by  the  enemy.  Still  he  felt  for  the  loneliness  of 
Mrs.  Washington's  situation,  heightened  as  it  must  be  by  anxiety 
on  his  own  account.  On  taking  command  of  the  army,  he  had 
held  out  a  prospect  to  her,  that  he  would  rejoin  her  at  home  in 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  375 

the  autumn  ;  there  was  now  a  probahility  of  his  being  detained 
before  Boston  all  winter.  He  wrote  to  her,  therefore,  by  ex- 
press, in  November,  inviting  her  to  join  him  at  the  camp.  He 
at  the  same  time  wrote  to  Lund  Washington,  engaging  his 
continued  services  as  an  agent.  This  person,  though  bearing 
the  same  name,  and  probably  of  the  same  stock,  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  in  any  near  degree  of  relationship.  Washington's 
letter  to  him  gives  a  picture  of  his  domestic  policy. 

^^  I  will  engage  for  the  year  coming,  and  the  year  following, 
if  these  troubles  and  my  absence  continue,  that  your  wages 
shall  be  standing  and  certain  at  the  highest  amount  that  any 
one  year's  crop  has  produced  you  yet.  I  do  not  offer  this  as  any 
temptation  to  induce  you  to  go  on  more  cheerfully  in  prosecut- 
ing those  schemes  of  mine.  I  should  do  injustice  to  you  Were 
I  not  to  acknowledge,  that  your  conduct  has  ever  appeared  to 
me  above  everything  sordid  ;  .but  I  offer  it  in  consideration  of 
the  great  charge  you  have  upon  your  hands,  and  my  entire  de- 
pendence upon  your  fidelity  and  industry. 

"  It  is  the  greatest,  indeed  it  is  the  only  comfortable  reflec- 
tion I  enjoy  on  this  score,  that  my  business  is  in  the  hands  of 
a  person  concerning  whose  integrity  I  have  not  a  doubt,  and  on 
whose  care  I  can  rely.  Were  it  not  for  this,  I  should  feel  very 
unhappy  on  account  of  the  situation  of  my  affairs.  But  I  am 
persuaded  you  will  do  for  me  as  you  would  for  yourself." 

The  following  were  his  noble  directions  concprning  Mount 
Vernon  : — 

"  Tiet  the  hospitality  of  the  house  with  respect  to  the  poor  be 
kept  up.  Let  no  one  go  hungry  away.  If  any  of  this  kind  of 
people  should  be  in  want  of  corn,  supply  their  necessaries,  pro- 
vided it  does  not  encourage  them  to  idleness  ;  and  I  have  no 
objection  to  your  giving  my  money  in  charity  to  the  amount  of 
forty  or  fifty  pounds  a  year,  when  you  think  it  well  bestowed. 
What  I  mean  by  having  no  objection  is,  that  it  is  my  desire  it 
should  be  done.  You  are  to  consider  that  neither  myself  nor 
wife  is  now  in  the  way  to  do  those  good  offices." 

Mrs.  Washington  came  on  with  her  own  carriage  and  horses, 
accompanied  by  her  son,  Mr.  Custis,  and  his  wife.  She 
travelled  by  very  easy  stages,  partly  on  account  of  the  badness 
of  the  roads,  partly  out  of  regard  to  the  horses,  of  which  Wash- 
ington was  always  very  careful,  and  which  were  generally  re- 
markable for  beauty  and  excellence.  Escorts  and  guards  of 
honor  attended  her  from  place  to  place,  and  she  was  detained 
some  time  at  Philadelphia,  by  the  devoted  attention  of  the  in- 
habitants. 

Her  arrival  at  Cambridge  was  a  glad  event  in  the  army.     In- 


376  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

cidental  mention  is  made  of  the  equipage  in  which  she  appeared 
there.  A  chariot  and  four,  with  black  postilions  in  scarlet  and 
white  liveries.  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  was  an  English 
style  of  equij)age,  derived  from  the  Fairfaxes  ;  but  in  truth  it 
was  a  style  still  prevalent  at  that  day  in  Virginia. 

It  would  appear  that  dinner  invitations  to  head-quarters  were 
becoming  matters  of  pride  and  solicitude.  "  I  am  much  obliged 
to  you/'  writes  Washington  to  Beed,  "  for  the  hints  respecting 
the  jealousies  which  you  say  are  gone  abroad.  I  cannot  charge 
myself  with  incivility,  or  what  in  my  opinion  is  tantamount, 
ceremonious  civility  to  gentlemen  of  this  colony ;  but  if  such 
my  conduct  appears,  I  will  endeavor  at  a  reformation ;  as  I  can 
assure  you,  my  dear  Beed,  that  I  wish  to  walk  in  such  a  line  as 
will  give  most  general  satisfaction.  You  know  that  it  was  my 
wish  at  first  to  invite  a  certain  number  to  dinner,  but  uninten- 
tionally we  somehow  or  other  missed  of  it.  If  this  has  given 
rise  to  the  jealousy,  I  can  only  say  that  I  am  very  sorry  for  it; 
at  the  same  time  I  add,  that  it  was  rather  owing  to  inattention, 
or,  more  properly,  too  much  attention  to  other  matters,  which 
caused  me  to  neglect  it." 

And  in  another  letter  : — 

"  My  constant  attention  to  the  great  and  perplexing  objects 
which  continually  arise  to  my  view,  absorbs  all  lesser  considera- 
tions ;  and,  indeed,  scarcely  allows  me  to  reflect  that  there  is 
such  a  body  as  the  General  Court  of  this  colony,  but  when  I 
am  reminded  of  it  by  a  committee  ;  nor  can  I,  upon  recollec- 
tion, discover  in  what  instance  I  have  been  inattentive  to,  or 
slighted  them.  They  could  not  surely  conceive  that  there  was 
a  propriety  in  unbosoming  the  secrets  of  the  army  to  them ; 
that  it  was  necessary  to  ask  their  opinion  in  throwing  up  an 
intrenchment  or  forming  a  battalion.  It  must  be,  therefore, 
what  I  before  hinted  to  you  ;  and  how  to  remedy  it  I  hardly 
know,  as  I  am  acquainted  with  few  of  the  members,  never  go 
out  of  my  own  lines,  nor  see  any  of  them  in  them." 

The  presence  of  Mrs.  Washington  soon  relieved  the  general 
from  this  kind  of  perplexity.  She  presided  at  head-quarters, 
with  mingled  dignity  and  affability.  We  have  an  anecdote  or 
two  of  the  internal  affairs  of  head-quarters,  furnished  by  the 
descendant  of  one  who  was  an  occasional  inmate  there. 

Washington  had  prayers  morning  and-  evening,  and  was  reg- 
gular  in  his  attendance  at  the  church  in  which  he  was  a  com- 
municant. On  one  occasion,  for  want  of  a  clergyman,  the 
Episcopal  service  was  read  by  Colonel  William  Palfrey,  one  of 
Washington's  aides-de-camp  ;  who  substituted  a  prayer  of  his 
own  composition  in  place  of  the  one  formerly  offered  up  for  the 
king. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  377 

Not  long  after  her  arrival  in  camp,  Mrs.  Washington  claimed 
to  keep  Twelfth-night  in  due  style,  as  the  anniversary  of  her 
wedding.  "  The  general,"  says  the  same  informant,  "  was  some- 
what thoughtful,  and  said  he  was  afraid  he  must  refuse  it." 
His  objections  were  overcome,  and  Twelfth-night  and  the  wed- 
ding anniversary  were  duly  celebrated. 

There  seems  to  have  been  more  conviviality  at  the  quarters 
of  some  of  the  other  generals ;  their  time  and  minds  were  less 
intensely  engrossed  by  anxious  cares,  having  only  their  in- 
dividual departments  to  attend  to.  Adjutant-general  Mifflin's 
house  appears  to  have  been  a  gay  one.  "  He  was  a  man  of 
education,  ready  apprehension,  and  brilliancy,"  says  Graydon  ; 
"had  spent  some  time  in  Europe,  particularly  in  France,  and 
was  very  easy  of  access,  with  the  manners  of  genteel  life, 
though  occasionally  evolving  those  of  the  Quaker."  * 

Mrs.  Adams  gives  an  account  of  an  evening  party  at  his 
house.  "I  was  very  politely  entertained  and  noticed  by  the 
generals,"  writes  she,  "  more  especially  General  Lee,  who  was 
very  urgent  for  me  to  tarry  in  town,  and  dine  with  him  and  the 
ladies  present  at  Hobgoblin  Hall  ;  but  I  excused  myself. 
The  general  was  determined  that  I  should  not  only  be  acquainted 
with  him,  but  with  his  companions  too  ;  and  therefore  placed 
a  chair  before  me,  into  which  he  ordered  Mr.  Spada  (his  dog) 
to  mount,  and  present  his  paw  to  me  for  a  better  acquaintance. 
I  could  not  do  otherwise  than  accept  it."  t 

John  Adams,  likewise,  gives  us  a  picture  of  festivities  at  head- 
quarters, where  he  was  a  visitant  on  the  recess  of  Congress. 

"  I  dined  at  Colonel  Mifflin's  with  the  general  (Washington) 
and  lady,  and  a  vast  collection  of  other  company,  among  whom 
were  six  or  seven  sachems  and  warriors  of  the  French  Caughna- 
waga  Indians,  with  their  wives  and  children.  A  savage  feast 
they  made  of  it ;  yet  were  very  polite  in  the  Indian  style.  I 
was  introduced  to  them  by  the  general  as  one  of  the  grand 
council  at  Philadelphia,  which  made  them  prick  up  their  ears. 
They  came  and  shook  hands  with  me."  % 

While  giving  these  familiar  scenes  and  occurrences  at  the 
camp,  we  are  tempted  to  subjoin  one  furnished  from  the  manu- 
script memoir  of  an  eye-witness.  A  large  party  of  Virginia 
riflemen,  who  had  recently  arrived  in  camp,  were  strolling 
about  Cambridge,  and  viewing  the    collegiate  buildings,  now 

*  Graydon' s  Memoirs,  p.  154. 

t  Letters  of  Mr.  Adams,  vol.  1.  85. 

X  Adams'  Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  80.  Adams  adds,  that  they  made  him 
"  low  bows  and  scrapes  " — a  kind  of  homage  never  paid  by  an  Indian 
Warrior. 


378  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

turned  into  barracks.  Their  half-Indian  equipments,  and 
fringed  and  ruffled  hunting  garbs,  provoked  the  merriment  of 
some  troops  from  Marblehead,  chiefly  fishermen  and  sailors, 
who  thought  nothing  equal  to  the  round  jacket  and  trowsers. 
A  bantering  ensued  between  them.  There  was  snow  upon  the 
ground,  and  snow-balls  began  to  fly  when  jokes  were  wanting. 
The  parties  waxed  warm  with  the  contest.  They  closed,  and 
came  to  blows  ;  both  sides  were  reinforced,  and  in  a  little  while  at 
least  a  thousand  were  at  fisticuffs,  and  there  was  a '  tumult  in 
the  camp  worthy  of  the  days  of  Homer.  "  At  this  juncture," 
writes  our  informant,  "Washington  made  his  appearance, 
whether  by  accident  or  design,  I  never  knew.  I  saw  none  of 
his  aides  with  him;  his  black  servant  just  behind  him  mounted. 
He  threw  the  bridle  off  his  own  horse  into  his  servant's  hands, 
sprang  from  his  seat,  rushed  into  the  thickest  of  the  melee, 
seized  two  tall  brawny  riflemen  by  the  throat,  keeping  them  at 
arm's-length,  talking  to  and  shaking  them.'' 

As  they  were  from  his  own  province,  he  may  have  felt  pecul- 
iarly responsible  for  their  good  conduct ;  they  were  engaged, 
too,  in  one  of  those  sectional  brawls  which  were  his  especial  ab- 
horrence ;  his  reprimand  must,  therefore,  have  been  a  vehement 
one.  He  was  commanding  in  his  serenest  nloments,  but  irre- 
sistible in  his  bursts  of  indignation.  On  the  present  occasion, 
-vve  are  told,  his  appearance  and  strong-handed  rebuke  put  an 
instant  end  to  the  tumult.  The  combatants  dispersed  in  all 
directions,  and  in  less  than  three  minutes  none  remained  on  the 
ground  but  the  two  he  had  collared. 

The  veteran  who  records  this  exercise  of  military  authority, 
seems  at  a  loss  which  most  to  admire,  the  simplicity  of  the  pro- 
cess or  the  vigor  with  which  it  was  administered.  "Here," 
writes  he,  "  bloodshed,  imprisonments,  trials  by  court-martial, 
revengeful  feelings  between  the  different  corps  of  the  army, 
were  happily  prevented  by  the  physical  and  mental  energies  of 
a  single  person,  and  the  only  damage  resulting  from  the  fierce 
encounter  was  a  few  torn  hunting  frocks  and  round  jackets."* 

*  From  memoranda  written  at  an  advanced  age,  by  the  late  Hon. 
Israel  Trask  ;  who,  when  but  ten  years  old ,  was  in  the  camp  at  Cam- 
bridge with  his  father,  who  was  a  lieutenant. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  379 


CHAPTEE  LIV. 

a.ffairs  in  canada. arnold  at  point  levi. quebec  re- 
inforced.  crossing  of  the  st.  lawrence. landing  in 

Wolfe's  cove. — Arnold  on  the  heights   of  Abraham. — 

CAUTIOUS      counsel. QUEBEC      AROUSED. THE      INVADERS 

BAFFLED. WITHDRAW  TO  POINT  AUX  TREMBLES. BOOMING 

OF  CANNON. CARELTON   AT   QUEBEC. LETTER  OF    WASHING- 
TON TO  ARNOLD. 

We  again  turn  from  the  siege  of  Boston,  to  the  invasion  of 
Canada,  which  at  that  time  shared  the  anxious  thoughts  of 
Washington.  .  His  last  accounts  of  the  movements  of  Arnold, 
left  him  at  Point  Levi,  opposite  to  Quebec.  ^  Something  bril- 
liant from  that  daring  officer  was  anticipated.  It  was  his  inten- 
tion to  cross  the  river  immediately.  Had  he  done  so,  he  might 
have  carried  the  town  by  a  cotip  de  main  ;  for  terror  as  well 
as  disaffection  prevailed  among  the  inhabitants.  At  Point 
Levi,  however,  he  was  brought  to  a  stand ;  not  a  boat  was  to  be 
found  there.  Letters  which  he  had  despatched  some  days  pre- 
viously, by  two  Indians,  to  Generals  Schuyler  and  Montgomery, 
had  been  carried  by  his  faithless  messengers,  to  Caramhe,  the 
lieutenant-governor,  who,  thus  apprised  of  the  impending  dan- 
ger, had  caused  all  the  boats  of  Point  Levi  to  be  either  removed 
or  destroyed. 

Arnold  was  not  a  man  to  be  disheartened  by  difficulties.  With 
great  exertions  he  procured  about  forty  birch  canoes  from  the 
Canadians  and  Indians,  with  forty  of  the  latter  to  navigate 
them  ;  but  stormy  winds  arose,  and  for  some  days  the  river  was 
too  boisterous  for  such  frail  craft.  In  the  meantime  the  gar- 
rison at  Quebec  was  gaining  strength.  Pecruits  arrived  from 
Nova  Scotia.  The  veteran  Maclean,  too,  who  had  been  driven 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel  by  the  detachment  under  Brown 
and  Livingston,  arrived  down  the  river  with  his  corps  of  Poyal 
Highland  Emigrants,  and  threw  himself  into  the  place.  The 
Lizard  frigate,  the  Hornet  sloop-of-war,  and  two  armed  schoon- 
ers were  stationed  in  the  river,  and  guard-boats  patrolled  at 
night.  The  prospect  of  a  successful  attack  upon  the  place  was 
growing  desperate. 

On  the  13th  of  November,  Arnold  received  intelligence  tl^a^ 


380  LJ^FE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Montgomery  had  captured  St.  John's.  He  was  instantly  roused 
to  emulation.  His  men,  too  were  inspirited  by  the  news. 
The  wind  had  abated  ;  he  determined  to  cross  the  river  that 
very  night.  At  a  late  hour  in  the  evening  he  embarked  with 
the  first  division,  principally  riflemen.  The  river  was  wide ; 
the  current  rapid  ;  the  birch  canoes,  easy  to  be  upset,  required 
skillful  management.  By  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  large 
part  of  his  force  had  crossed  without  being  perceived,  and  landed 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  above  Cape  Diamond,  at  Wolfe's  Cove, 
so-called  from  being  the  landing-place  of  that  gallant  com- 
mander. 

Just  then  a  guard-boat,  belonging  to  the  Lizard^  came  slowly 
along  shore  and  discovered  them.  They  hailed  it,  and  ordered 
it  to  land.  Not  complying  it  was  fired  into,  and  three  men 
were  killed.  The  boat  instantly  pulled  for  the  frigate,  giving 
vociferous  alarm. 

Without  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  residue  of  his  men,  for 
whom  the  canoes  had  been  despatched,  Arneld  led  those  who 
had  landed  to  the  ^oot  of  the  cragged  defile,  once  scaled  by  the 
intrepid  Wolfe,  and  scrambled  up  it  in  all  haste.  By  daylight 
he  had  planted  his  daring  flag  on  the  far-famed  Heights  of 
Abraham. 

Here  the  main  difficulty  stared  him  in  the  face.  A  strong 
line  of  walls  and  bastions  traversed  the  promontory  from  one  of 
its  precipitous  sides  to  the  other ;  inclosing  the  upper  and 
lower  towns.  On  the  right,  the  great  bastion  of  Cape  Diamond 
crowned  the  rocky  height  of  that  name.  On  the  left  was  the 
bastion  of  La  Potasse,  close  by  the  gate  of  St.  John's  opening 
upon  the  barracks ;  the  gate  where  Wolfe's  antagonist,  the  gal- 
lant Montcalm,  received  his  death  wound. 

A  council  of  war  was  now  held.  Arnold,  who  had  some 
knowledge  of  the  place,  was  for  dashing  forward  at  once  and 
storming  the  gate  of  St.  John's.  Had  they  done  so,  they  might 
have  been  successful.  The  gate  was  open  and  unguarded. 
Through  some  blunder  and  delay,  a  message  from  the  comman- 
der of  the  Lizard  to  the  lieutenant-governor  had  not  yet  been 
delivered,  and  no  alarm  had  reached  the  fortress. 

The  formidable  aspect  of  the  place,  however,  awed  Arnold's 
associates  in  council.  They  considered  that  their  whole  force 
was  but  between  seven  and  eight  hundred  men ;  that  nearly 
one  third  of  their  fire-arms  had  been  rendered  useless,  and  much 
of  their  ammunition  damaged  in  their  march  through  the  wil- 
derness ;  they  had  no  artillery,  and  the  fortress  looked  too  strong 
to  be  carried  by  a  coup  de  main.  Cautious  counsel  is  often 
fatal  to  a  daring  enterprise.     While  the  council  of  war  deliber- 


J 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  381 

ated,  the  favorable  moment  passed  away.  The  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor received  the  tardy  message.  He  hastily  assembled 
the  merchants,  officers  of  militia,  and  captains  of  the  mer- 
chant vessels.  All  promised  to  stand  by  him;  he  had 
strong  distrust,  however,  of  the  French  part  of  the  population 
and  the  Canadian  militia  ;  his  main  reliance  was  on  Colonel 
Maclean  and  his  E-oyal  Highland  Emigrants. 

The  din  of  arms  now  resounded  through  the  streets.  The 
cry  was  up — "  The  enemy  arc  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham  ! 
The  gate  of  St.  John's  is  open  ! "  There  was  an  attempt  to 
shut  it.  The  keys  were  not  to  be  found.  It  was  hastil}^  secur- 
ed by  ropes  and  handspikes,  and  the  walls  looking  upon  the 
heights  were  soon  manned  by  the  military,  and  thronged  by 
the  populace. 

Arnold  paraded  his  men  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  walls, 
and  caused  them  to  give  three  hearty  cheers  ;  hoping  to  excite 
a  revolt  in  the  place,  or  to  provoke  the  scanty  garrison  to  a  sally. 
There  were  a  few  scattered  cheerings  in  return  ;  but  the  taunt- 
ing bravo  failed  to  produce  a  sortie ;  the  governor  dared  not 
venture  beyond  the  walls  with  part  of  his  garrison,  having  too 
little  confidence  in  the  loyalty  of  those  who  would  remain  be- 
hind. There  was  some  firing  on  the  part  of  the  Americans, 
but,  merely  as  an  additional  taunt ;  they  were  too  far  off  for 
their  musketry  to  have  effect.  A  large  cannon  on  the  ramparts 
was  brought  to  bear  on  them,  and  matches  were  procured  from 
the  Lizard,  with  which  to  fire  it  off.  A  few  shots  obliged  the 
Americans  to  retire  and  encamp. 

In  the  evening  Arnold  sent  a  flag,  demanding  in  the  name 
of  the  United  Colonies  the  surrender  of  the  place.  Some  of 
the  disaffected  and  the  faint-hearted  were  inclined  to  open  the 
gate,  but  were  held  in  check  by  the  mastiff  loyalty  of  Maclean. 
The  veteran  guarded  the  gate  with  his  Highlanders  ;  forbade 
all  communication  with  the  besiegers,  and  fired  upon  their  flag 
as  an  ensign  of  rebellion. 

Several  days  elapsed.  Arnold's  flags  of  truce  were  repeated- 
ly insulted,  but  he  saw  the  futility  of  resenting  it,  and  attack- 
ing the  place  with  his  present  means.  The  inhabitants  grad- 
ually recovered  from  their  alarm,  and  armed  themselves  to  de- 
fend their  property.  The  sailors  and  marines  proved  a  valua- 
ble addition  to  the  garrison,  which  now  really  meditated  a 
sortie. 

Arnold  received  information  of  all  this  from  friends  within 
the  walls ;  he  heard  about  the  same  time  of  the  capture  of  Mon- 
treal, and  that  General  Carleton,  having  escaped  from  that 
place,  was  on  his  way  down  to  Quebec,     He  thought  at  present^ 


382  I^IFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

therefore,  to  draw  off  on  the  19th  to  Point  aux  Trembles  (Asp- 
en-tree Point),  twenty  miles  above  Quebec,  there  to  await  the 
arrival  of  General  Montgomery  with  troops  and  artillery.  As 
his  little  army  wended  its  way  along  the  high  bank  of  the  river 
towards  its  destined  encampment,  a  vessel  passed  below,  which 
had  just  touched  at  Point  aux  Trembles.  On  board  of  it  was 
General  Carleton,  hurrying  on  to  Quebec. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  distant  booming  of  artillery  told 
of  his  arrival  at  his  post,  where  he  resumed  a  stern  command. 
He  was  unpopular  among  the  inhabitants  ;  even  the  British  mer- 
chants and  other  men  of  business  were  offended  by  the  coldness 
of  his  manners,  and  his  confining  his  intimacy  to  the  military 
and  the  Canadian  noblesse. 

He  was  aware  of  his  unpopularity,  and  looked  round  him  with 
distrust ;  his  first  measure  was  to  turn  out  of  the  place  all  sus- 
pected persons,  and  all  who  refused  to  aid  in  its  defense.  This 
caused  a  great  "trooping  out  of  town,"  but  what  was  lost  in 
numbers  was  gained  in  strength.  With  the  loyally  disposed  who 
remained,  he  busied  himself  in  improving  the  defenses. 

Of  the  constant  anxiety,  yet  enduring  hope,  with  which 
"Washington  watched  this  hazardous  enterprise  we  have  evidence 
in  his  various  letters.  To  Arnold,  when  at  Point  Levi,  baffled 
in  the  expectation  of  finding  the  means  of  making  a  dash  upon 
Quebec,  he  writes :  "  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  any  man  to  com- 
mand success,  but  you  have  done  more,  you  have  deserved  it  ; 
and  before  this  time  (Dec.  5th),  I  hope  you  have  met  with  the 
laurels  which  are  due  to  your  toils,  in  the  possession  of  Quebec. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  but  a  junction  of  your  detachment  with 
the  army  under  General  Montgomery,  is  effected  before  this. 
If  so,  you  will  put  yourself  under  his  command,  and  will,  I  am 
persuaded,  give  him  all  the  assistance  in  your  power,  to  finish 
the  glorious  work  you  have  begun." 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  383 


CHAPTER  LV. 

LORD  DUNMORE. HIS  PLANS  OF  HARASSING   VIRGINIA. — LEE*S 

POLICY    RESPECTING    TORY     GOVERNORS     AND     PLACEMEN. 

RHODE  ISLAND  HARASSED  BY    WALLACE    AND    HIS  CRUISERS, 

AND  INFESTED  BY  TORIES. LEE  SENT    TO    ITS     RELIEF. HIS 

VIGOROUS  MEASURES. THE    ARMY    DISBANDING. WASHING- 
TON'S    PERPLEXITIES. SYMPATHY    OF    GENERAL    GREENE. 

HIS  LOYALTY  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE. THE  CRISIS. CHEERING 

NEWS  FROM  CANADA. GLOOMY  OPENING  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

NEWS  FROM  COLONEL  KNOX. 

In  the  month  of  December  a  vessel  had  been  captured,  bear- 
ing supplies  from  Lord  Dunmore,  to  the  army  at  Boston.  A 
letter  on  board  from  his  lordship  to  General  Howe,  invited  him 
to  transfer  the  war  to  the  southern  colonies  ;  or,  at  all  events, 
to  send  reinforcements  thither ;  intimating  at  the  same  time 
his  plan  of  proclaiming  liberty  to  indentured  servants,  negroes, 
and  others  appertaining  to  rebels,  and  inviting  them  to  join 
His  Majesty's  troops.  In  a  word, — to  inflict  upon  Virginia  the 
horrors  of  a  servile  war. 

"  If  this  man  is  not  crushed  before  spring,"  writes  Washing- 
ton, "  he  will  become  the  most  formidable  enemy  America  has. 

His  strength  will  increase   as  a  snowball Motives 

of  resentment  actuate  his  conduct  to  a  degree  equal  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  colony." 

General  Lee  took  the  occasion  to  set  forth  his  own  system 
of  policy,  which  was  particularly  rigid  wherever  men  in  author- 
ity and  tories  were  concerned.  It  was  the  old  grudge  against 
ministers  and  their  adherents  set  on  edge. 

"  Had  my  opinion  been  thought  worthy  of  attention,"  would 
he  say,  "  Lord  Duiimore  would  have  been  disarmed  of  his  teeth 
and  claws."  He  would  have  seized  Tryon  too,  "  and  all  his 
tories  at  New  York,"  and,  having  struck  the  stroke,  would  have 
applied  to  Congress  for  approbation. 

"  I  propose  the  following  measures,"  would  he  add  :  "  To 
seize  every  governor,  government  man,  placeman,  tory,  and 
enemy  to  liberty  on  the  continent,  to  confiscate  their  estates  ; 
or  at  least  lay  them  under  heavy  contributions  for  the  public. 
Their  persons  should  be  secured,  in  some  of  the  interior  towns, 
as  hostages  for  the  treatment  of  those  of  our  party,  whom  the 


384  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

fortune  of  war  shall  throw  into  their  hands  ;  they  should  he 
allowed  a  reasonable  pension  out  of  their  fortunes  for  their 
maintenance."  * 

Such  was  the  policy  advocated  by  Lee  in  his  letters  and  con- 
versation, and  he  soon  had  an  opportunity  of  carrying  it  partly 
into  operation.  Ehode  Island  had  for  some  time  past  been 
domineered  over  by  Captain  Wallace  of  the  royal  navy  ;  who 
had  stationed  himself  at  Newport  with  an  armed  vessel,  and 
obliged  the  place  to  furnish  him  with  supplies.  Latterly  he 
had  landed  in  Conanicut  Island,  opposite  to  Nevrport,  with  a 
number  of  sailors  and  marines,  plundered  and  burnt  houses, 
and  driven  off  cattle  for  the  supply  of  the  army.  In  his  exac- 
tions and  maraudings,  he  was  said  to  have  received  countenance 
from  the  tory  part  of  the  inhabitants.  It  was  now  reported 
that  a  naval  armament  was  coming  from  Boston  against  the 
island.  In  this  emergency,  the  governor  (Cooke)  wrote  to  Wash- 
ington, requesting  military  aid,  and  an  efficient  officer  to  put 
the  island  in  a  state  of  defense,  suggesting  the  name  of  General 
Lee  for  the  purpose. 

Lee  undertook  the  task  with  alacrity.  "  I  sincerely  wish," 
sam  Washington,  "  he  may  be  able  to  do  it  with  effect ;  as 
that  place,  in  its  present  state,  is  an  asylum  for  such  as  are  dis- 
affected to  American  liberty." 

Lee  set  out  for  Khode  Island  with  his  guard  and  a  party  of 
riflemen,  and  at  Providence  was  joined  by  the  cadet  company 
of  that  place,  and  a  number  of  minute  men.  Preceded  by  these, 
he  entered  the  town  of  Newport  on  Christmas-day,  in  military 
style.  While  there,  he  summoned  before  him  a  number  of  per- 
sons who  had  supplied  the  enemy ;  some  according  to  a  con- 
vention originally  made  between  Wallace  and  the  authorities, 
others,  as  it  was  suspected,  through  tory  feelings.  All  were 
obliged  by  Lee  to  take  a  test  oath  of  his  own  devising,  by 
which  they  "  religiously  swore  that  they  would  neither  directly, 
nor  indirectly,  assist  the  wicked  instruments  of  ministerial  ty- 
ranny and  villainy  commonly  called  the  king's  troops  and  navy, 
by  furnishing  them  with  provisions  and  refreshments."  They 
swore  moreover,  to  "  denounce  all  traitors  before  the  public  au- 
thority, and  to  take  arms  in  defense  of  American  liberty,  when- 
ever required  by  Congress  or  the  provincial  authority."  Two 
custom-house  officers,  and  another  person,  who  refused  to  take 
the  oath,  were  put  under  guard  and  sent  to  Providence.  Hav- 
ing laid  out  works,  and  given  directions  for  fortifications,  Lee 
returned  to  camp  after  an  absence   of  ten  days.     Some  of  his 

*  Lee  to  Rich.  Henry  Lee.     Am.  Archives,  4th  Series,  iv.  248. 


LIFE  OF  WASBlNGTOJSf.  385 

proceedings,  were  considered  too  higli-lianded,  and  were  dis- 
approved by  Congress.  Lee  made  light  of  legislative  cen- 
sures. "  One  must  not  be  trammeled  by  laws  in  war-time," 
said  he  ;  "  in  a  revolution  all  means  are  legal." 

Washington  approved  of  his  measures.  "  I  have  seen  Gen- 
eral Lee  since  his  expedition/'  writes  he,  "  and  hope  E-hode 
Island  will  derive  some  advantage  from  it.  I  am  told  that 
Captain  Wallace's  ships  have  been  supplied  for  some  time  by 
the  town  of  Newport,  on  certain  conditions  stipulated  between 
him  and  the  committee I  know  not  what  per- 
nicious consequences  may  result  from  a  precedent  of  this  sort. 
Other  places,  circumstanced  as  Newport  is,  may  follow  the  ex- 
ample, and  by  that  means  their  whole  fleet  and  army  will  be 
furnished  with  what  it  highly  concerns  us  to  keep  from  them. 
....  Vigorous  regulations,  and  such  as  at  another  time 
would  appear  extraordinary,  are  now  become  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  preserving  our  country  against  the  strides  of  tyranny, 
making  against  it."  * 

December  had  been  throughout  a  month  of  severe  trial  to 
Washington  ;  during  which  he  saw  his  army  dropping  away 
piecemeal  before  his  eyes.  Homeward  every  face  was  turned  as 
soon  as  the  term  of  enlistment  was  at  an  end.  Scarce  could  the 
disbanding  troops  be  kept  a  few  days  in  camp  until  militia 
could  be  procured  to  supply  their  place.  Washington  made  re- 
peated and  animated  appeals  to  their  patriotism  ;  they  were  al- 
most unheeded.  He  caused  popular  and  patriotic  songs  to  be 
sung  about  the  camp.  They  passed  by  like  the  idle  wind. 
Home  !  home  !  home  !  throbbed  in  every  heart.  "  The  desire 
of  retiring  into  a  chimney-corner,"  says  Washington  reproach- 
fully, "  seized  the  troops  as  soon  as  their  terms  expired." 

Can  we  wonder  at  it  ?  They  were  for  the  most  part  yeo- 
manry, unused  to  military  restraint,  and  suffering  all  the  hard- 
ships of  a  starveling  camp,  almost  within  sight  of  the  smoke  of 
their  own  firesides. 

Greene,  throughout  this  trying  month,  was  continually  by 
Washington's  side.  His  letters  expressing  the  same  cares  and 
apprehensions,  and  occasionally  in  the  same  language  with 
those  of  the  commander-in-chief,  show  how  completely  he  was 
in  his  councils.  He  could  well  sympathize  with  him  in  his 
solicitudes.  Some  of  his  own  Rhode  Island  troops  were  with 
Arnold  in  his  Canada  expedition.  Others  encamped  on  Pros^ 
pect  Hill,  and  whose  order  and  discipline  had  been  his  pride, 
were  evincing  the  prevalent  disposition  to  disband.  "  They 
seem  to  be  so  sick  of  this  way  of  life,  and  so  homesick,"  writes 
*  Washington  to  Gov.  Cooke.     Sparks,  iii.  227. 


386  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOir. 

he,  "  that  I  fear  the  greater  part  of  the  best  troops  from  our 
colony  will  soon  go  home."  To  provide  against  such  a  con- 
tingency^ he  strengthened  his  encampment,  so  that,  "  if  the 
soldiery  should  not  engage  as  cheerfully  as  he  expected,  he 
might  defend  it  with  a  less  number."  * 

Still  he  was  buoyant  and  cheerful ;  frequently  on  his  white 
horse  about  Prospect  Hill,  haranguing  his  men,  and  endeavor- 
ing to  keep  them  in  good  humor.  "This  is  no  time  for  dis- 
gusting the  soldiery,"  would  he  say,  "  when  their  aid  is  so 
essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of  human  nature  and 
the  liberties  of  America." 

He  wore  the  same  cheery  aspect  to  the  commander-in-chief ; 
or  rather  he  partook  of  his  own  hopeful  spirit.  "  I  expect," 
would  he  say,  "the  army,  notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties 
we  meet  with,  will  be  full  in  about  six  weeks." 

It  was  this  loyalty  in  time  of  trouble,  this  buoyancy  under 
depression,  this  thorough  patriotism,  which  won  for  him  the 
entire  confidence  of  Washington. 

The  thirty-first  of  December  arrived,  the  crisis  of  the  army ; 
for  with  that  month  expired  the  last  of  the  old  terms  of  enlist- 
ment. "  We  never  have  been  so  weak,"  writes  Greene,  "  as  we 
shall  be  to-morrow,  when  we  dismiss  the  old  troops."  On  this 
day  Washington  received  cheering  intelligence  from  Canada. 
A  junction  had  taken  place,  a  month  previously,  between  Arnold 
and  Montgomery  at  Point  aux  Trembles.  They  were  about 
two  thousand  strong,  and  were  making  every  preparation  for 
attacking  Quebec.  Carleton  was  said  to  have  with  him  but 
about  twelve  hundred  men,  the  majority  of  whom  were  sailors. 
It  was  thought  that  the  French  would  give  up  Quebec,  if  they 
could  get  the  same  conditions  that  were  granted  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Montreal,  t 

Thus  the  year  closed  upon  Washington  with  a  ray  of  light 
from  Canada,  while  all  was  doubt  around  him. 

On  the  following  morning  (January  1st,  1776),  his  army  did 
not  amount  to  ten  thousand  men,  and  was  composed  of  but 
half-filled  regiments.  Even  in  raising  this  inadequate  force, 
it  had  been  necessary  to  indulge  many  of  the  men  with  fur- 
loughs, that  they  might  visit  their  families  and  friends.  The 
expedients  resorted  to  in  equipping  the  army,  show  the  pre- 
vailing lack  of  arms.  Those  soldiers  who  retired  from  service, 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  weapons  for  their  successors,  re- 
ceiving their  appraised  value.  Those  who  enlisted,  were  re- 
quired to  bring  a  guU;  or  were  charged  a  dollar  for  the    use  of 

*  Greene  to  Henry  Ward. 

t  Letter  of  Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress,  Dec.  31. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  387 

one  during   the   campaign.     He  who   brought  a  blanket    was 
allowed  two  dollars.     It  was  impossible    to  furnish   uniforms  ; ' 
the   troops,  therefore,  presented  a  motley  appearance,  in    gar- 
ments of  divers  cuts  and  colors  ;    the  price  of  each  man's   garb 
being  deducted  from  his  pay. 

The  detachments  of  militia  from  the  neighboring  provinces 
which  replaced  the  disbanding  troops,  remained  but  for  brief 
periods ;  so  that,  in  despite  of  every  effort,  the  lines  were  often 
but  feebly  manned,  and  might  easily  have  been  forced. 

The  anxiety  of  Washington,  in  this  critical  state  of  the  army, 
may  be  judged  from  his  correspondence  with  Reed.  "It  is 
easier  to  conceive  than  to  describe  the  situation  of  my  mind 
for  some  time  past,  and  my  feelings  under  our  present  circum- 
stances,'' writes  he  on  the  4th  of  Januarj'^.  "  Search  the  vol- 
umes of  history  through,  and  I  much  question  whether  a  case 
similar  to  ours  is  to  be  found,  namely,  to  maintain  a  post 
against  the  power  of  the  British  troops  for  six  months  together, 
without  powder,  and  then  to  have  one  army  disbanded  and  an- 
other raised  within  the  same  distance  (musket  shot)  of  a  rein- 
forced enemy.  What  may  be  the  issue  of  the  last  manoeuvre, 
time  only  can   unfold.     1  wish   this  month  were  well    over  our 

head We  are  now  left  with  a  good  deal  less  than 

half-raised  regiments,  and  about  five  thousand  militia,  who  only 
stand  engaged  to  the  middle  of  this  month ;  when,  according 
to  custom,  they  will  depart,  let  the  necessity  of  their  stay  be 
ever  so  urgent.  Thus,  for  more  than  two  months  past,  I  have 
Scarcely  emerged  from  one  difficulty  before  I  have  been  plunged 
in  another.  How  it  will  end,  God,  in  his  great  goodness,  will 
direct.  I  am  thankful  for  his  protection  to  this  time.  We 
are  told  that  we  shall  soon  get  the  army  completed,  but  I  have 
been  told  so  many  things  which  have  never  come  to  pass,  that 
I  distrust  everything." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  Mr.  E,eed,  he  reverts  to  the  subject, 
and  pours  forth  his  feelings  with  confiding  frankness.  What 
can  be  more  touching  than  the  picture  he  draws  of  himself  and 
his  lonely  vigils  about  his  sleeping  camp  ?  "  The  reflection 
on  my  situation  and  that  of  this  army,  produces  many  an  un- 
happy hour,  when  all  around  me  are  wrapped  in  sleep.  Few 
people  know  the  predicament  we  are  in  on  a  thousand  accounts  ; 
fewer  still  will  believe,  if  any  disaster  happens  to  these  lines, 
from  what  cause  it  flows.  I  have  often  thought  how  much 
happier  I  should  have  been,  if,  instead  of  accepting  the  com- 
mand, under  such  circumstances,  I  had  taken  my  musket  on 
my  shoulder  and  entered  the  ranks  ;  or,  if  I  could  have  justified 
the  measure  to   posterity  and   my  own  conscience,  had  retired 


388  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

to  the  back  country  and  lived  in  a  wigwam.  If  I  shall  he  able 
to  rise  superior  to  these  and  many  other  difficulties,  which 
might  he  enumerated,  I  shall  most  religiously  believe  that  the 
finger  of  Providence  is  in  it,  to  blind  the  eyes  of  our  enemies ; 
for  surely  if  we  get  well  through  this  month,  it  must  be  for 
want  of  their  knowing  the  disadvantages  which  we  labor 
under.'^ 

Recurring  to  the  project  of  an  attack  upon  Boston,  which  he 
had  reluctantly  abandoned  in  deference  to  the  adverse  opinions 
of  a  council  of  war, — "  Could  I  have  foreseen  the  difficulties 
which  have  come  upon  us  ;  could  I  have  known  that  such  a 
backwardness  would  have  been  discovered  among  the  old 
soldiers  to  the  service,  all  the  generals  upon  earth  should  not 
have  convinced  me  of  the  propriety  of  delaying  an  attack  upon 
Boston  till  this  time.  When  it  can  now  be  attempted,  I  will 
not  undertake  to  say ;  but  thus  much  I  will  answer  for,  that  no 
opportunity  can  present  itself  earlier  than  my  wishes." 

In  the  midst  of  his  discouragements,  Washington  received 
letters  from  Knox,  showing  the  spirit  and  energy  with  which 
he  was  executing  his  mission,  in  quest  of  cannon  and  ordnance 
stores.  He  had  struggled  manfully  and  successfully  with  all 
kinds  of  difficulties  from  the  advanced  season,  and  head  winds, 
in  getting  them  from  Ticonderoga  to  the  head  of  Lake  George. 
"Three  days  ago,"  writes  he,  on  the  17th  of  December,  "it 
was  very  uncertain  whether  we  could  get  them  over  until  next 
spring ;  but  now,  please  God,  they  shall  go.  I  have  made  forty- 
two  exceedingly  strong  sleds,  and  have  provided  eighty  yoke  of 
oxen  to  drag  them  as  far  as  Springfield,  where  I  shall  get  fresh 
cattle  to  take  them  to  camp." 

It  was  thus  that  hardships  and  emergencies  were  bringing 
out  the  merits  of  the  self-made  soldiers  of  the  Kevolution ;  and 
showing  their  commander-in-chief  on  whom  he  might  rely. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  389 


CHAPTEE  LVI. 

MILITARY      PREPARATIONS     IN      BOSTON. A     SECRET     EXPEDI- 
TION.  ITS     OBJECT. lee's     PLAN     FOR    THE     SECURITY     OF 

NEW  YORK. OPINION  OF  ADAMS  ON  THE  SUBJECT. IN- 
STRUCTIONS TO  LEE. TRANSACTIONS  OF  LEE  IN  CONNECT- 
ICUT.  LEE's  policy  in  REGARD  TO  THE  TORIES. UNEASI- 
NESS IN  NEW  YORK. LETTER  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  SAFETY 

TO     LEE. HIS     REPLY. HIS     OPINION     OF     THE     PEOPLE     OF 

CONNECTICUT. OF     THE     HYSTERICAL      LETTER      FROM     THE 

NEW  YORK  CONGRESS. 

Early  in  the  montli  of  January,  there  was  a  great  stir  of 
preparation  in  Boston  harbor.  A  fleet  of  transports  were  taking 
in  supplies,  and  making  arrangements  for  the  embarkation  of 
troops.  Bomb-ketches  and  flat-bottomed  boats  were  getting 
ready  for  sea,  as  were  two  sloops-of-war,  which  were  t(3  convey 
the  armament.  Its  destination  was  kept  secret ;  but  was  con- 
fidently surmised  by  Washington. 

In  the  preceding  month  of  October,  a  letter  had  been  laid 
before  Congress,  written  by  some  person  in  London  of  high 
credibility,  and  revealing  a  secret  plan  of  operations  said  to 
have  been  sent  out  by  ministers  to  the  commanders  in  Boston. 
The  following  is  the  purport :  Possession  was  to  be  gained  of 
New  York  and  Albany,  through  the  assistance  of  Governor 
Tryon,  on  whose  influence  with  the  tory  part  of  the  population, 
much  reliance  was  placed.  These  cities  were  to  be  very  strongly 
garrisoned.  All  w^ho  did  not  join  the  king's  forces  were  to  bo 
declared  rebels.  The  Hudson  Eiver,  and  the  East  Piver  or 
Sound,  were  to  be  commanded  by  a  number  of  small  men-of-war 
and  cutters,  stationed  in  different  parts,  so  as  wholly  to  cut  off 
all  communication  by  water  between  New  York  and  the  prov- 
inces to  the  northward  of  it ;  and  between  New  York  and^ 
Albanj^,  except  for  the  king's  service ;  and  to  prevent,  also,  all 
communication  between  the  city  of  New  York  and  the  provinces 
of  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  those  to  the  southward  of 
them.  "By  these  means,"  said  the  letter,  "tlie  administration 
and  their  friends  fancy  they  shall  soon  either  starve  out  or 
retake  the  garrisons  of  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  and 
open  and  maintain  a  safe  intercourse   and  correspondence  be-^ 


390  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tween  Quebec,  Albany,  and  New  York ;  and  thereby  offer  the 
fairest  opportunity  to  their  soldiery  and  the  Canadians,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Indians  to  be  procured  by  Guy  Johnson,  to 
make  continual  irruptions  into  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
and  Connecticut,  and  so  distract  and  divide  the  provincial 
forces,  as  to  render  it  easy  for  the  British  army  at  Boston  to 
defeat  them,  break  the  spirits  of  the  Massachusetts  people,  de- 
populate their  country,  and  compel  an  absolute  subjection  to 
Great  Britain."  * 

It  was  added  that  a  lord,  high  in  the  American  department, 
had  been  very  particular  in  his  inquiries  about  the  Hudson 
Eiver  ;  what  sized  vessels  could  get  to  Albany  ;  and  whether,  if 
batteries  were  erected  in  the  Highlands,  they  would  not  control 
the  navigation  of  the  river,  and  prevent  vessels  from  going  up 
and  down. 

This  information  had  already  excited  solicitude  respecting  the 
Hudson,  and  led  to  measures  for  its  protection.  It  was  now 
surmised  that  the  expedition  preparing  to  sail  from  Boston,  and 
which  was  to  be  conducted  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  might  be  des- 
tined to  seize  upon  New  York.  How  was  the  apprehended 
blow  to  be  parried  ?  General  Lee,  who  was  just  returned  from 
his  energetic  visit  to  Rhode  Island,  offered  his  advice  and 
services  in  the  matter.  In  a  letter  to  Washington,  he  urged 
him  to  act  at  once,  and  on  his  own  responsibility,  without  await- 
ing the  tardy  and  doubtful  sanction  of  Congress,  for  which,  in 
military  matters,  Lee  had  but  small  regard. 

"  New  York  must  be  secured,"  writes  he,  "  but  it  will  never, 
I  am  afraid,  be  secured  by  due  order  of  the  Congress,  for  obvious 
reasons.  They  find  themselves  awkwardly  situated  on  this 
head.  You  must  step  in  to  their  relief.  I  am  sensible  no  man 
can  be  spared  from  the  lines  under  present  circumstances  ;  but 
I  would  propose  that  you  should  detach  me  into  Connecticut, 
and  lend  your  name  for  collecting  a  body  of  volunteers.  I  am 
assured  that  I  shall  find  no  difiiculty  in  assembling  a  sufficient 
number  for  the  purpose  wanted.  This  body,  in  conjunction  (if 
there  should  appear  occasion  to  summon  them)  with  the  Jersey 
regiment  under  the  command  of  Lord  Stirling,  now  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  will  effect  the  security  of  New  York,  and  the  expulsion 
or  suppression  of  that  dangerous  banditti  of  tories,  Avho  have 
appeared  on  Long  Island,  with  the  professed  intention  of  acting 
against  the  authority  of  Congress.  Not  to  crush  these  serpents 
before  their  rattles  are  grown  would  be  ruinous. 

"  This  manoeuvre,  I  not  only  think  prudent  and  right,  but 
absolutely  necessary  to  our  salvation  ;  and  if  it  meets,  as  I 
*  Am,  Archives.  4th  Series,  ill,  1281. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  391 

(lently  hope  it  will,  with  your  approbation,  the   sooner  it  is  en- 
tered upon  the  better ;  the  delay  of  a  single  day  may  be  fatal." 

Washington,  while  he  approved  of  Lee's  military  suggestions, 
was  cautious  in  exercising  the  extraordinary^  powers  so  recently 
vested  in  him,  and  fearful  of  transcending  them.  John  Adams 
was  at  that  time  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camp,  and  he  asked  his 
opinion  as  to  the  practicability  and  exjiediency  of  the  plan,  and 
whether  it  "  might  not  be  regarded  as  beyond  his  line." 

Adams,  resolute  of  spirit,  thought  the  enterprise  might  easily 
be  accomplished  by  the  friends  of  liberty  in  New  York,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Connecticut  j)eople,  "  who  are  very  ready," 
said  he,  "  upon  such  occasions." 

As  to  the  expediency,  he  urged  the  vast  importance,  in  the 
progress  of  this  war,  of  the  city  and  province  of  New  York,  and 
the  Hudson  River,  being  the  nexus  of  the  northern  and  southern 
colonies,  a  kind  of  key  to  the  whole  continent,  as  it  is  a  passage 
to  Canada,  to  the  Great  Lakes,  and  to  all  the  Indian  nations. 
No  effort  to  secure  it  ought  to  be  omitted. 

That  it  was  within  the  limits  of  Washington's  command,  he 
considered  perfectly  clear,  he  being  "  vested  with  full  power 
and  authorit}^  to  act  as  he  should  think  for  the  good  and  welfare 
of  the  service." 

If  there  was  a  body  of  people  on  Lqjig  Island  armed  to 
oppose  the  American  system  of  defense  and  furnishing  supplies 
to  the  British  army  and  navy,  they  were  invading  American 
liberty  as  much  as  those  besieged  in  Boston. 

If,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  a  body  of  tories  were  waiting 
only  for  a  force  to  protect  them,  to  declare  themselves  on  the 
side  of  the  enemy,  it  was  high  time  that  city  was  secured.  * 

Thus  fortified,  as  it  were,  by  congressional  sanction,  through 
one  of  its  most  important  members,  who  pronounced  New  York 
as  much  within  his  command  as  Massachusetts,  he. gave  Lee 
authority  to  carry  out  his  plans.  He  was  to  raise  volunteers  in 
Connecticut ;  march  at  their  head  to  New  York ;  call  in  mili- 
tary aid  from  New  Jersey  ;  put  the  city  and  the  posts  on  the 
Hudson  in  a  posture  of  security  against  surprise ;  disarm  all 
persons  on  Long  Island  and  elsewhere,  inimical  to  the  views  of 
Congress,  or  secure  them  in  some  other  manner  if  necessary, 
and  seize  upon  all  medicines,  shirts,  and  blankets,  and  send 
them  on  for  the  use  of  the  American  army. 

Lee  departed  on  his  mission  on  the  8th  of  January.     On  the 
16th  he  was  at  New  Llaven,  railing  at  the  indecision  of  Con- 
gress.     They   had  ordered  the   enlistment   of   troops   for  the 
security  of  New  Yorl^:.     A  Connecticut  regiment  under  Colonel 
*  Adams  to  Washington,  Corr.  of  Rev.,  i.  113. 


392  LIFE  OF"  WASmnGTON. 

Waterburj  had  been  raised,  equi];)ped,  and  on  the  point  of  em- 
harking  for  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island,  to  attack  the  tories,  who 
were  to  he  attacked  on  the  other  side  hy  Lord  Stirling,  "  when 
suddenly,"  says  Lee,  "  Colonel  Waterhury  received  an  order  to 
disband  his  regiment,  and  the  tories  are  to  remain  unmolested 
till  they  are  joined  by  the  King's  assassins." 

Trumbull,  the  Grovernor  of  Connecticut,  however,  "  like  a 
man  of  sense  and  spirit,"  had  ordered  the  regiment  to  be 
reassembled,  and  Lee  trusted  it  would  soon  be  ready  to  march 
with  him.  "I  shall  send  immediately,"  said  he,  "an  express 
to  the  Congress  informing  them  of  my  situation,  and  at  the 
same  time  conjuring  them  not  to  suffer  the  accursed  Provincial 
Congress  of  New  York  to  defeat  measures  so  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  salvation." 

Lee's  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress  showed  that  the  in- 
structions dictated  by  the  moderate  and  considerate  spirit  of 
Washington  were  not  strong  enough  on  some  points  to  suit  his 
stern  military  notions.  The  scheme,  simply  of  disarming  the 
tories,  seemed  to  him  totally  ineffectual ;  it  would  only  embitter 
their  minds  and  add  virus  to  their  venom.  They  could  and 
would  always  be  supplied  with  fresh  arms  by  the  enemy.  That 
of  seizing  the  most  dangerous  would,  from  its  vagueness,  be  at- 
tended with  some  bad  consequences,  and  could  answer  no  good 
one.  "  The  plan  of  explaining  to  these  deluded  people  the 
justice  of  the  American  cause  is  certainly  generous  and  hu- 
mane," observed  he,  "  but  I  am  afraid  will  be  fruitless.  They 
are  so  riveted  in  their  opinions,  that  I  am  persuaded,  should  an 
angel  descend  from  heaven  with  his  golden  trumpet,  and  ring 
in  their  ears  that  their  conduct  was  criminal,  he  would  be  dis- 
regarded." 

Lee's  notion  of  the  policy  proper  in  the  present  case  was,  to 
disarm  the  disaffected  of  all  classes,  supplying  our  own  troops 
with  the  arms  thus  seized  ;  to  appraise  their  estates,  and  oblige 
them  to  deposit  at  least  one  half  the  value  with  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  as  a  security  for  good  behavior  ;  to  adminis- 
ter the  strongest  oath  that  could  be  devised,  that  they  would 
act  offensively  and  defensively  in  support  of  the  common 
rights  ;  and  finally,  to  transfer  all  such  as  should  prove  refrac- 
tory, to  some  place  in  the  interior,  where  they  would  not  be 
dangerous. 

The  people  of  New  York,  at  all  times  very  excitable,  were 
thrown  into  a  panic  on  hearing  that  Lee  was  in  Connecticut,  on 
his  way  to  take  military  possession  of  the  city.  They  appre- 
hended his  appearance  there  would  provoke  an  attack  from  the 
ships  in  the  harbor.     Some,  who  thought  the  war  about  to  be 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  393 

brought  to  their  own  doors,  packed  up  their  effects,  and  made 
off  into  the  country  with  their  wives  and  children.  Others  be- 
leaguered the  committee  of  safety  with  entreaties  against  the 
deprecated  protection  of  General  Lee.  The  committee,  through 
Pierre  Van  Cortlandt,  their  chairman,  addressed  a  letter  to  Lee, 
inquiring  into  the  motives  of  his  coming  with  an  army  to  New 
York,  and  stating  the  incapacity  of  the  city  to  act  hostilely 
against  the  ships  of  war  in  port,  from  deficiency  of  powder,  and 
a  want  of  military  works.  For  these,  and  other  reasons,  they 
urged  the  impropriety  of  provoking  hostilities  for  the  present, 
and  the  necessity  of  "saving  appearances,"  with  the  ships  of 
war,  till  at  least  the  month  of  March,  when  they  hoped  to  be 
able  to  face  their  enemies  wrth  some  countenance. 

"We,  therefore,"  continued  the  letter,  "ardently  wish  to 
remain  in  peace  for  a  little  time,  and  doubt  not  we  have  as- 
signed sufficient  reasons  for  avoiding  at  present  a  dilemma,  in 
which  the  entrance  of  a  large  body  of  troops  into  the  city,  will 
almost  certainly  involve  us.  Should  you  have  such  an  entrance 
in  design,  we  beg  at  least  the  troops  may  halt  on  the  western 
confines  of  Connecticut,  till  we  have  been  honored  by  you  with 
such  an  explanation  on  this  important  subject,  as  you  may  con- 
ceive your  duty  may  permit  you  to  enter  upon  with  us,  the 
grounds  of  which,  you  may  easily  see,  ought  to  be  kept  an 
entire  secret." 

Lee,  in  reply,  dated  Stamford,  January  23d,  disclaimed  all 
intention  of  commencing  actual  hostilities  against  the  men-of- 
war  in  the  harbor,  his  instructions  from  the  commander-in-chief 
being  solely  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  taking  post  in  the  city, 
or  lodging  themselves  on  Long  Island.  Some  subordinate 
purposes  were  likewise  to  be  executed,  which  were  much  more 
proper  to  be  communicated  by  word  of  mouth  than  by  writing. 
In  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  committee,  he  promised 
to  carry  with  him  into  the  town  just  troops  enough  to  secure  it 
against  any  present  designs  of  the  enemy,  leaving  his  main 
force  on  the  western  border  of  Connecticut.  "  I  give  you  my 
word,"  added  he,  "  that  no  active  service  is  proposed,  as  you 
seem  to  apprehend.  If  the  ships  of  war  are  quiet,  I  shall  be 
quiet ;  but  I  declare  solemnly,  that  if  they  make  a  pretext  of 
my  presence  to  fire  on  the  town,  the  first  house  set  on  flames 
by  their  guns,  shall  be  the  funeral  pile  of  some  of  their  best 
friends." 

In  a  letter  to  Washington,  written  on  the  following  day,  he 
says  of  his  recruiting  success  in  Connecticut :  "  I  find  the 
people  throughout  this  province  more  alive  and  zealous  than 
my  most  sanguine  expectations.     I  believe  I  might  have  col- 


394  I^IFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

lected  two  thousand  volunteers.     I  take  only  four  companies 

with  me,  and  Waterlmry's   regiment These  Con- 

necticutians  are,  if  possible,  more  eager  to  go  out  of  their  coun- 
try, than  they  are  to  return  home,  when  they  have  been  absent 
for  any  considerable  time." 

Speaking  of  the  people  of  New  York,  and  the  letter  from 
their  Provincial  Congress,  which  he  incloses  :  "  The  whigs," 
says  he,  "  I  mean  the  stout  ones,  are,  it  is  said,  very  desirous 
that  a  body  of  troops  should  march  and  be  stationed  in  the 
city — the  timid  ones  are  averse,  merely  from  the  spirit  of  pro- 
crastination, which  is  the  characteristic  of  timidity.  The  letter 
from  the  Provincial  Congress,  you  will  observe,  breathes  the 
very  essence  of  this  spirit ;  it  is  wofully  hysterical." 

By  the  by,  the  threat  contained  in  Lee's  reply  about  a 
"funeral  pile,"  coming  from  a  soldier  of  his  mettle,  was  not 
calculated  to  soothe-  the  hysterical  feelings  of  the  committee  of 
safety.  How  he  conducted  himself  on  his  arrival  in  the  city,  we 
shall  relate  in  a  future  chapter. 


CHAPTER  LYII. 

MONTGOMERY  BEFORE    QUEBEC. HIS  PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS. A 

SUMMONS  TO   SURRENDER. A    FLAG    INSULTED. THE    TOWN 

BESEIGED. PLAN  OF  AN  ESCALADE. ATTACK  OF  THE  LOWER 

TOWN. MONTGOMERY  IN  THE    ADVANCE. HIS    DEATH. RE- 
TREAT OF  COL.  CAMPBELL. ATTACK  BY    ARNOLD.^ — DEFENSE 

OF    LOWER    TOWN. ARNOLD   WOUNDED. RETREAT    OF    THE 

AMERICANS. GALLANT  RESOLVE  OF  ARNOLD. 

Prom  amid  surrounding  perplexities,  Washington  still 
turned  a  hopeful  eye  to  Canada.  He  expected  daily  to  receive 
tidings  that  Montgomery  and  Arnold  were  within  the  walls  of 
Quebec,  and  he  had  even  written  to  the  former  to  forward  as 
much  as  could  be  spared  of  the  large  quantities  of  arms, 
blankets,  clothing  and  other  military  stores,  said  to  be  deposited 
there,  the  army  before  Boston  being  in  great  need  of  such  sup- 
plies. 

On  the  18th  of  January  came  despatches  to  him  from  Gen- 
eral Schuyler,  containing  withering  tidings.  The  following  is 
the  purport :  Montgomery,  on  the  2d  of  December,  the  day 
after,  his  arrival  at  Point  aux  Trembles,  set  off  in  face  of  a 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  395 

driving  snow-storm  for  Quebec,  and  arrived  before  it  on  tbe  5th. 
The  works,  from  their  great  extent,  appeared  to  him  incapable 
of  being  defended  by  the  actual  garrison  ;  made  up,  as  he  said, 
of  "  Maclean's  banditti,"  the  sailors  from  the  frigates  and  other 
vessels,  together  with  the  citizens  obliged  to  take  up  arms;  most 
of  whom  were  impatient  of  the  fatigues  of  a  siege,  and  wished 
to  see  matters  accommodated  amicably.  "  I  propose,"  added 
he,  "  amusing  Mr.  Carleton  with  a  formal  attack,  erecting  bat- 
teries, etc.,  but  mean  to  assault  the  works,  I  believe  towards 
the  lower  town,  which  is  the  weakest  part." 

According  to  his  own  account,  his  whole  force  did  not  exceed 
nine  hundred  effective  men,  three  hundred  of  whom  he  had 
brought  with  him  ;  the  rest  he  found  with  Colonel  Arnold.  The 
latter  he  pronounced  an  exceeding  fine  corps,  inured  to  fatigue, 
and  well  accustomed  to  a  cannon,  shot,  having  served  at  Cam- 
bridge. "  There  is  a  style  of  discipline  among  them,"  adds  he, 
"  much  superior  to  what  I  have  been  used  to  see  in  this  cam- 
paign. He,  himself  (Arnold),  is  active,  intelligent  and  enter- 
prising. Fortune  often  baffles  the  sanguine  expectations  of 
poor  mortals.  I  am  not  intoxicated  with  her  favors,  but  T  do 
think  there  is  a  fair  prospect  of  success."  * 

On  the  day  of  his  arrival,  he  sent  a  flag  with  a  summons  to 
surrender.  It  was  fired  upon,  and  obliged  to  retire.  Exasper- 
ated at  this  outrage,  which,  it  is  thought,  was  committed  by  the 
veteran  Maclean,  Montgomery  wrote  an  indignant,  reproachful, 
and  even  menacing  letter  to  Carleton,  reiterating  the  demand, 
magnifying  the  number  of  his  troops,  and  warning  him  against 
the  consequences  of  an  assault.  Finding  it  was  rejected  from 
the  walls,  it  was  conveyed  in  by  a  woman,  together  with  letters 
addressed  to  the  principal  merchants,  promising  great  indul- 
gence in  case  of  immediate  submission.  By  Carleton's  orders, 
the  messenger  was  sent  to  prison  for  a  few  days,  and  then 
drummed  out  of  town.  " 

Montgomery  now  prepared  for  an  attack.  The  ground  was 
frozen  to  a  great  depth,  and  covered  with  snow  ;  he  was  scantily 
provided  with  intrenching  tools,  and  had  only  a  field  train  of 
artillery,  and  a  few  mortars.  By  dint  of  excessive  labor  a 
breastwork  was  thrown  up,  four  hundred  yards  distant  from  the 
walls  and  opposite  to  the  gate  of  St.  Louis,  which  is  nearly 
in  the  centre.  It  was  formed  of  gabions,  ranged  side  by  side, 
and  filled  with  snow,  over  which  water  was  thrown  until 
thoroughly  frozen.  Here  Captain  Lamb  mounted  five  light 
pieces  and  a  howitzer.     Several  mortars  were  placed  in  the 

Montgomery  to  Schuyler,  Dec.  5. 


396  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

suburbs  of  St.  Roque,  which  extends  on  the  left  of  the  promon. 
tory,  below  the  heights,  and  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  river. 

From  the  "  Ice  Battery  "  Captain  Lamb  opened  a  well-sus- 
tained and  well-directed  fire  upon  the  walls,  but  his  field-pieces 
were  too  light  to  be  effective.  With  his  howitzer  he  threw 
shells  into  the  town  and  set  it  on  fire  in  several  places.  For 
five  days  and  nights  the  garrison  was  kept  on  the  alert  by  the 
teasing  fire  of  this  battery.  The  object  of  Montgomery  was 
harass  the  town,  and  increase  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. His  flag  of  truce  being  still  fired  upon,  he  caused  the 
Indians  in  his  camp  to  shoot  arrows  into  the  town,  having  letters 
attached  to  them,  addressed  to  the  inhabitants,  representing 
Carleton's  refusal  to  treat,  and  advising  them  to  rise  in  a  body 
and  compel  him.  It  was  all  in  vain ;  whatever  might  have  been 
the  disposition  of  the  inhabitants,  they  were  completely  under 
the  control  of  the  military. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fifth  day,  Montgomery  paid  a  visit  to 
the  ice  battery.  The  heavy  artillery  from  the  wall  had  repaid 
its  ineffectual  fire  with  ample  usury.  The  brittle  ramparts  had 
been  shivered  like  glass  ;  several  of  the  guns  had  been  rendered 
useless.  Just  as  they  arrived  at  the  battery,  a  shot  from  the 
fortress  dismounted  one  of  the  guns,  and  disabled  many  of  the 
men.  A  second  shot  immediately  following,  was  almost  as  de- 
structive. "This  is  warm  work,  sir,^'  said  Montgomery,  to 
Captain  Lamb.  "  It  is  indeed,  and  certainly  no  place  for  you, 
sir.''  "  Why  so.  Captain  ? ''  "  Because  there  are  enough  of  us 
here  to  be  killed,  without  the  loss  of  you,  which  would  be  irre- 
parable." 

The  general  saw  the  insufficiency  of  the  battery,  and,  on  re- 
tiring, gave  Captain  Lamb  permission  to  leave  it  whenever  he 
thought  proper.  The  veteran  waited  until  after  dark,  when, 
securing  all  the  guns,  he  abandoned  the  ruined  redoubt.  The 
general  in  this  visit  was  attended  by  Aaron  Burr,  whom  he  had 
appointed  his  aide-de-camp.  Lamb  wondered  that  he  should 
encumber  himself  with  such  a  boy.  The  perfect  coolness  and 
self-possession  with  which  the  youth  mingled  in  this  dangerous 
scene,  and  the  fire  which  sparkled  in  his  eye,  soon  convinced 
Lamb,  according  to  his  own  account,  that  "  the  young  volunteer 
was  no  ordinary  man."  * 

Nearly  three  weeks  had  been  consumed  in  these  futile  oper- 
ations. The  arm}^,  ill-clothed  and  ill-provided,  was  becoming 
impatient  of  the  rigors  of  a  Canadian  winter ;  the  term  for 
which  part  of  the  troops  had  enlisted  would  expire  with  the 
year,  and  they  already  talked  of  returning  home.  Montgomery 
*  Life  of  John  Lamb^  p.  125. 


lif:b  of  iVAsnmaTOK.  307 

was  sadly  conscious  of  the  insufficiency  of  his  means  ;  still  he 
could  not  endure  the  thoughts  of  retiring  from  before  the  place 
without  striking  a  blow.  He  knew  that  much  was  expected 
from  him,  in  consequence  of  his  late  achievements,  and  that  the 
eyes  of  the  public  were  fixed  upon  this  Canadian  enterprise. 
He  determined,  therefore,  to  attempt  to  carry  the  place  by 
escalade.  One  third  of  his  men  were  to  set  fire  to  the  houses 
and  stockades  of  the  suburb  of  St.  Roque,  and  force  the  bar- 
riers of  the  lower  town  ;  while  the  main  body  should  scale  the 
bastion  of  Cape  Diamond. 

It  was  a  hazardous,  almost  a  desperate  project,  yet  it  has 
met  with  the  approbation  of  military  men.  He  calculated  upon 
the  devotion  and  daring  spirit  of  his  men  ;  upon  the  discontent 
which  prevailed  among  the  Canadians,  and  upon  the  incompe- 
tency of  the  garrison  for  the  defense  of  such  extensive  works. 

In  regard  to  the  devotion  of  his  men,  he  was  threatened  with 
disappointment.  When  the  plan  of  assault  was  submitted  to  a 
council  of  war,  three  of  the  captains  in  Arnold's  division,  the 
terms  of  whose  companies  were  near  expiring,  declined  to  serve, 
unless  they  and  their  men  could  be  transferred  to  another  com- 
mand. This  almost  mutinous  movement,  it  is  supposed,  was 
fomented  by  Arnold's  old  adversary.  Major  Brown,  and  it  was 
with  infinite  difficulty  Montgomery  succeeded  in  overcoming  it. 

The  ladders  were  now  provided  for  the  escalade,  and  Mont- 
gomery waited  with  impatience  for  a  favorable  night  to  put  it 
into  execution.  Small-pox  and  desertion  had  reduced  his  little 
army  to  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men.  From  certain  move- 
ments of  the  enemy,  it  was  surmised  that  the  deserters  had  re- 
vealed his  plan.  He  changed,  therefore,  the  arrangement. 
Colonel  Livingston  was  to  make  a  false  attack  on  the  gate  of 
St.  John's  and  set  fire  to  it ;  Major  Brown,  with  another  de- 
tachment, was  to  menace  the  bastion  of  Cape  Diamond.  Arnold, 
with  three  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  hardy  fellows  who  had 
followed  him  through  the  wilderness,  strengthened  by  Captain 
Lamb  and  forty  of  his  company,  was  to  assault  the  suburbs  and 
batteries  of  St.  Roque ;  while  Montgomery,  with  the  residue  of 
his  forces,  was  to  pass  below  the  bastion  at  Cape  Diamond,  de- 
file along  the  river,  carry  the  defenses  at  Drummond's  Wharf, 
and  thus  enter  the  lower  town  on  one  side,  while  Arnold  forced 
his  way  into  it  on  the  other.  These  movements  were  all  to  be 
made  at  the  same  time,  on  the  discharge  of  signal  rockets,  thus 
distracting  the  enemy,  and  calling  their  attention  to  four  several 
points. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the 
troops  repaired  to   their  several  destinations,  under  cover  of  a 


398  Ln^E  OF  WASHINGTON. 

violent  snow-storm.  By  some  accident  or  mistake,  such  as  is 
apt  to  occur  in  complicated  plans  of  attack,  the  signal  rockets 
were  let  oif  before  the  lower  divisions  had  time  to  get  to  their 
fighting  ground.  They  were  descried  by  one  of  Maclean's 
Highland  officers,  who  gave  the  alarm.  Livingston,  also,  failed 
to  make  the  false  attack  on  the  gate  of  St.  John's,  which  was 
to  have  caused  a  diversion  favorable  to  Arnold's  attack  on  the 
sul)urb  below. 

The  feint  by  Major  Brown,  on  the  bastion  of  Cape  Diamond, 
was  successful,  and  concealed  the  march  of  General  Montgomery. 

That  gallant  commander  descended  from  the  heights  to 
Wolfe's  Cove,  and  led  his  division  along  the  shore  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  round  the  beetling  promontory  of  Cape  Diamond. 
The  narrow  approach  to  the  lower  town  in  that  direction  was 
traversed  by  a  picket  or  stockade,  defended  by  Canadian  mili- 
tia ;  beyond  which  was  a  second  defense,  a  kind  of  block-house, 
forming  a  battery  of  small  pieces,  manned  by  Canadian  militia, 
and  a  few  seamen,  and  commanded  by  the  captain  of  a  trans- 
port. The  aim  of  Montgomery  Avas  to  come  uj^on  these  bar- 
riers by  surprise.  The  pass  which  they  defended  is  formidable 
at  all  times,  having  a  swift  river  on  one  side,  and  overhanging 
precipices  on  the  other ;  but  at  this  time  was  rendered  peculi- 
arly difficult  by  drifting  snow,  and  by  great  masses  of  ice  piled 
on  each  other  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs. 

The  troops  made  their  .way  painfully,  in  extended  and  strag- 
gling files,  along  the  narrow  footway,  and  over  the  slippery 
piles  of  ice.  Among  the  foremost,  were  some  of  the  first  New 
York  regiment,  led  on  by  Captain  Cheeseman.  Montgomery, 
who  was  familiar  with  them,  urged  them  on.  "  Forward,  men 
of  New  York ! "  cried  he.  "You  are  not  the  men  to  flinch 
when  your  general  leads  you  on  !  "  In  his  eagerness,  he  threw 
himself  far  in  the  advance,  with  his  pioneers  and  a  few  officers, 
and  made  a  dash  at  the  first  barrier.  The  Canadians  stationed 
there,  taken  by  surprise,  made  a  few  random  shots,  then  threw 
down  their  muskets  and  fled.  Montgomery  sprang  forward, 
aided  with  his  own  hand  to  pluck  down  the  pickets,  which  the 
pioneers  were  sawing,  and  having  made  a  breach  sufficiently 
wide  to  admit  three  or  four  men  abreast,  entered  sword  in  hand, 
followed  by  his  staff,  Captain  Cheeseman,  and  some  of  his  men. 
The  Canadians  had  fled  from  the  picket  to  the  battery  or  block- 
house, but  seemed  to  have  carried  the  panic  with  them,  for  the 
battery  remained  silent.  Montgomery  felt  for  a  moment  as  if 
the  surprise  had  been  complete.  He  paused  in  the  breach  to 
rally  on  the  troops,  who  were  stumbling  along  the  difficult  pass. 
"Push  on,  my  brave  boys,"  cried  he,  "  Quebec  is  ours  !  " 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  399 

He  again  dashed  forward,  but,  when  within  forty  paces  of 
the  battery,  a  discharge  of  grape-shot  from  a  single  cannon, 
made  deadly  havoc.  Montgomery  and  McPherson,  one  of  his 
aides,  were  killed  on  the  spot.  Captain  Cheeseman,  who  was 
leading  on  his  New  Yorkers,  received  a  canister-shot  through 
the  body ;  made  an  effort  to  rise  and  push  forward,  but  fell 
back  a  corpse ;  with  him  fell  his  orderly  sergeant  and  several 
of  his  men.  This  fearful  slaughter,  and  the  death  of  their  gen- 
eral, threw  everything  in  confusion.  The  officer  next  in  lineal 
rank  to  the  general,  was  far  in  the  rear ;  in  this  emergency, 
Colonel  Campbell,  quartermaster-general,  took  the  command, 
but,  instead  of  rallying  the  men,  and  endeavoring  to  effect  the 
junction  with  Arnold,  ordered  a  retreat,  and  abandoned  the 
half-won  field,  leaving  behind  him  the  bodies  of  the  slain. 

While  all  this  was  occurring  on  the  side  of  Cape  Diamond, 
Arnold  led  his  division  against  the  opposite  side  of  the  lower 
town  along  the  suburb  and  street  of  St.  E-oque.  Like  Mont- 
gomery, he  took  the  advance  at  the  head  of  a  forlorn  hope  of 
twenty-five  men,  accompanied  by  his  secretary,  Oswald,  form- 
erly one  of  his  captains  at  Ticonderoga.  Captain  Lamb  and 
his  artillery  company  came  next,  with  a  field-piece  mounted  on 
a  sledge.  Then  came  a  company  with  ladders  and  scaling  im- 
plements, followed  by  Morgan  and  his  riflemen.  In  the  rear 
of  all  these  came  the  main  body.  A  battery  on  a  wharf  com- 
manded the  narrow  pass  by  which  they  had  to  advance.  This 
was  to  be  attacked  with  the  field-piece,  and  then  scaled  with 
ladders  by  the  forlorn  hope ;  while  Captain  Morgan  with  his 
riflemen,  was  to  pass  round  the  wharf  on  the  ice. 

The  false  attack  which  was  to  have  been  made  by  Livingston 
on  the  gate  of  St.  John's,  by  way  of  diversion,  had  not  taken 
place ;  there  was  nothing,  therefore,  to  call  off  the  attention  of 
the  enemy  in  this  quarter  from  the  detachment.  The  troops, 
as  they  straggled  along  in  lengthened  file*through  the  drifting 
snow,  were  sadly  galled  by  a  flanking  fire  on  the  right,  from 
wall  and  pickets.  The  field-piece  at  length  became  so  deeply 
embedded  in  a  snow-drift,  that  it  could  not  be  moved.  Lamb 
sent  M^ord  to  Arnold  of  the  impediment ;  in  the  meantime  he 
and  his  artillery  company  were  brought  to  a  halt.  The  com- 
pany with  the  scaling  ladders  would  have  halted  also,  having 
been  told  to  keep  in  the  rear  of  the  artillery ;  but  they  were 
urged  on  by  Morgan  with  a  thundering  oath,  who  pushed  on 
after  them  with  his  riflemen,  the  artillery  company  opening  to 
the  right  and  left  to  let  them  pass. 

They  arrived  in  the  advance  just  as  Arnold  was  leading  on 
his  forlorn  hope  to  attack  the  barrier.     Before  he  reached  it, 


400  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

a  severe  wound  in  the  right  leg  with  a  musket-ball  completely 
disabled  him,  and  he  had  to  be  borne  from  the  field.  Mor- 
gan instantly  took  the  command.  Just  then  Lamb  came  up 
with  his  company,  armed  with  muskets  and  bayonets,  having 
received  orders  to  abandon  the  field-piece,  and  support  the  ad- 
vance. Oswald  joined  him  with  the  forlorn  hope.  The  battery 
which  commanded  the  defile  mounted  two  pieces  of  cannon. 
There  was  a  discharge  of  grape-shot  when  the  assailants  were 
close  under  the  muzzles  of  the  guns,  yet  but  one  man  was 
killed.  Before  there  could  be  a  second  discharge,  the  battery 
was  carried  by  assault,  some  firing  into  the  embrasures,  others 
scaling  the  walls.  The  captain  and  thirty  of  his  men  were 
taken  prisoners. 

The  day  was  just  dawning  as  Morgan  led  on  to  attack  the 
second  barrier,  and  his  men  had  to  advance  under  a  fire  from 
the  town  walls  on  their  right,  which  incessantly  thinned  their 
ranks.  The  second  barrier  was  reached ;  they  applied  their 
scaling  ladders  to  storm  it.  The  defense  was  brave  and  obsti- 
nate, but  the  defenders  were  at  length  driven  from  their  guns, 
and  the  battery  was  gained.  At  the  last  moment  one  of  the 
gunners  ran  back,  linstock  in  hand,  to  give  one  more  shot. 
Captain  Lamb  snapped  a  fusee  at  him.  It  missed  fire.  The 
cannon  was  discharged,  and  a  grape-shot  wounded  Lamb  in  the 
head,  carrying  away  part  of  the  cheek-bone.  He  was  borne  off 
senseless,  to  a  neighboring  shed. 

The  two  barriers  being  now  taken,  the  way  on  this  side  into 
the  lower  town  seemed  .open.  Morgan  prepared  to  enter  it  with 
the  victorious  vanguard,  first  stationing  Captain  Dearborn  and 
some  provincials  at  Palace  Gate,  which  opened  down  into  the 
defile  from  the  upper  town.  By  this  time,  however,  the  death 
of  Montgomery  and  retreat  of  Campbell,  had  enabled  the  enemy 
to  turn  all  their  attention  in  this  direction.  A  large  detach- 
ment sent  by  General  Carleton,  sallied  out  of  Palace  Gate  after 
Morgan  had  passed  it,  surprised  and  captured  Dearborn  and 
the  guard,  and  completely  cut  off  the  advanced  party.  The 
main  body,  informed  of  the  death  of  Montgomery,  and  giving 
up  the  game  as  lost,  retreated  to  the  camp,  leaving  behind  the 
field-piece  which  Lamb's  company  had  abandoned,  and  the 
mortars  in  the  battery  of  St.  Roque. 

Morgan  and  his  men  were  now  hemmed  in  on  all  sides,  and 
obliged  to  take  refuge  in  a  stone  house,  from  the  inveterate  fire 
which  assailed  them.  From  the  windows  of  this  house  they 
kept  up  a  desperate  defense,  until  cannon  were  brought  to  bear 
upon  it.  Then,  hearing  of  the  death  of  Montgomery,  and  see- 
ing that  there  was  no  prospect  of  relief^  Morgan  and  his  gallant 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  401 

handful  of  followers  were  compelled  to  surrender  themselves 
prisoners  of  war. 

Thus  foiled  at  every  point,  the  wrecks  of  the  little  army- 
abandoned  their  camp,  and  retreated  about  three  miles  from 
the  town ;  where  they  hastily  fortified  themselves,  apprehending 
a  pursuit  by  the  garrison.  General  Carleton,  however,  con- 
tented himself  with  having  secured  the  safety  of  the  place,  and 
remained  cautiously  passive  until  he  should  be  properly  rein- 
forced ;  distrusting  the  good  faith  of  the  motley  inhabitants. 
He  is  said  to  have  treated  the  prisoners  with  a  humanity  the 
more  honorable,  considering  the  "  habitual  military  severity  of 
his  temper ;  "  their  heroic  daring,  displayed  in  the  assault  upon 
the  lower  town,  having  excited  his  admiration. 

The  remains  of  the  gallant  Montgomery  received  a  soldier's 
grave,  within  the  fortifications  of  Quebec,  by  the  care  of 
Cramahe,  the  lieutenant-governor,  who  had  formerly  known 
him. 

Arnold,  wounded  and  disabled,  had  been  assisted  back  to  the 
camp,  dragging  one  foot  after  the  other  for  nearly  a  mile  in 
great  agony,  and  exposed  continually  to  the  musketry  from 
tlie  walls  at  fifty  yards'  distance,  which  shot  down  several  at 
his  side. 

He  took  temporary  command  of  the  shattered  army,  until 
General  Wooster  should  arrive  from  Montreal,  to  whom  he  sent 
an  express,  urging  him  to  bring  on  succor.  "  On  this  occasion,'' 
says  a  contemporary  writer,  "  he  discovered  the  utmost  vigor  of 
a  determined  mind,  and  a  genius  full  of  resources.  Defeated 
and  wounded,  as  he  was,  he  put  his  troops  into  such  a  situation 
as  to  keep  them  still  formidable."  * 

With  a  mere  handful  of  men,  at  one  time  not  exceeding  five 
hundred,  he  maintained  a  blockade  of  the  strong  fortress  from 
which  he  had  just  been  repulsed.  "  I  have  no  thoughts,"  writes 
he,  "  of  leaving  this  proud  town  until  I  enter  it  in  triumph.  I 
am  in  the  way  of  my  duty,  and  1  know  no  fear  .^"  t 

Happy  for  him  had  he  fallen  at  this  moment. — Happy  for 
him  had  he  found  a  soldier's  and  a  patriot's  grave,  beneath  the 
rock-built  walls  of  Quebec.  Those  walls  would  have  remained 
enduring  monuments  of  his  renown.  His  name,  like  that  of 
Montgomery,  would  have  been  treasured  up  among  the  dearest 
though  most  mournful  recollections  of  his  country,  and  that 
country  would  have  been  spared  the  single  traitorous  blot  that 
dims  the  bright  page  of  its  revolutionary  history. 

*  Civil  War  in  America^  vol.  i.  p.  112. 

t  See  Arnold's  Letter.     Bememhrancery  11.  368. 


402  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

CORRESPONDENCE    OF    WASHINGTON    AND    SCHUYLER    ON     THE 

DISASTERS  IN  CANADA. REINFORCEMENTS    REQUIRED    FROM 

NEW  ENGLAND. DANGERS  IN  THE  INTERIOR  OF    NEW  YORK. 

JOHNSON  HALL  BELEAGUERED. SIR  JOHN  CAPITULATES. — - 

GENEROUS   CONDUCT  OF  SCHUYLER. GOVERNOR    TRYON  AND 

THE    TORIES. TORY    MACHINATIONS. LEE  AT  NEW  YORK. 

SIR  HENRY  CLINTON    IN    THE    HARBOR. MENACES  OF  LEE. 

THE  CITY  AND  RIVER  FORTIFIED. LEE's  TREATMENT  OF  THE 

TORIES. HIS    PLANS    OF    FORTIFICATION. ORDERED  TO  THE 

COMMAND    IN    CANADA. HIS    SPECULATIONS    ON    TITLES    OF 

DIGNITY. 

Schuyler's  letter  to  Washington  announcing  the  recent 
events  was  written  with  manly  feeling.  "  I  wish/'  said  he, 
"  I  had  no  occasion  to  send  my  dear  general  this  melancholy 
account.  My  amiable  friend,  the  gallant  Montgomery,  is  no 
more ;  the  brave  Arnold  is  wounded  ;  and  we  have  met  with  a 
severe  check  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  on  Quebec.  May 
Heaven  be  graciously  pleased  that  the  misfortune  may  ter- 
minate here  :  I  tremble  for  our  people  in  Canada." 

Alluding  to  his  recent  request  to  retire  from  the  army,  ]ie 
writes  :  "  Our  affairs  are  much  worse  than  when  I  made  the  re- 
quest. This  is  motive  sufficient  for  me  to  continue  to  serve 
my  country  in  any  way  I  can  be  thought  most  serviceable  ; 
but  my  utmost  can  be  but  little,  weak  and  indisposed  as  I  am." 

Washington  was  deeply  moved  by  the  disastrous  intelligence. 
"  I  most  sincerely  condole  with  you,"  writes  he,  in  reply  to 
Schuyler,  "  upon  the  fall  of  the  brave  and  worthy  Montgomery. 
In  the  death  of  this  gentleman  America  has  sustained  a  heav}^ 
loss.  I  am  much  concerned  for  the  intrepid  and  enterprising 
Arnold,  and  greatly  fear  that  consequences  of  the  most  alarm- 
ing nature  will  result  from  this  well-intended  but  unfortunate 
attempt." 

General  Schuyler,  who  was  now  in  Albany,  urged  the  ne- 
cessity of  an  immediate  reinforcement  of  three  thousand  men 
for  the  army  in  Canada.  Washington  had  not  a  man  to  spare 
from  the  army  before  Boston.  He  applied,  therefore,  on  his 
own  responsibility^    to    Massachusetts,   Kew  Hampshire,    and 


LIFE  OF  WASIimGTOX.  403 

Connecticut,  for  three  regiments,  wliich  were  granted.  His 
prompt  measure  received  the  approbation  of  Congress,  and 
further  reinforcements  were  ordered  from  the  same  quarters. 

Solicitude  was  awakened  about  the  interior  of  the  province  of 
New  York.  Arms  and  ammunition  were  said  to  be  concealed 
in  Tryon  County,  and  numbers  of  the  tories.in  that  neighbor- 
hood preparing  for  hostilities.  Sir  John  Johnson  had  fortified 
Johnson  Hall,  gathered  about  him  his  Scotch  Highland  tenants 
and  Indian  allies,  and  it  was  rumored  he  intended  to  carry  fire 
and  sword  along  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk. 

Schuyler,  in  consequence,  received  orders  from  Congress  to 
take  measures  for  securing  the  military  stores,  disarming  the 
disaffected,  and  apprehending  their  chiefs.  He  forthwith 
hastened  from  Albany  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  soldiers  ;  was 
joined  by  Colonel  Herkimer,  with  the  militia  of  Tyron  County 
marshaled  forth  on  the  frozen  bosom  of  the  Mohawk  River, 
and  appeared  before  Sir  John's  stronghold,  near  Johnstown,  on 
the  19th  of  January. 

Thus  beleaguered.  Sir  John,  after  much  negotiation,  capitu- 
lated. He  was  to  surrender  all  weapons  of  war  and  military 
stores  in  his  possession,  and  to  give  his  parole  not  to  take 
arms  against  America.  On  these  conditions  he  was  to  be  at 
libert}^  to  go  as  far  westward  in  Tryon  County  as  the  German 
Flats  and  Kingsland  districts,  and  to  every  part  of  the  colony 
to  the  southward  and  eastward  of  these  districts,  provided  he 
did  not  go  into  any  seaport  town. 

Sir  John  intimated  a  trust  that  he,  and  the  gentlemen 
with  him,  would  be  permitted  to  retain  such  arms  as  were 
their  own  property.  The  reply  was  characteristic :  "  General 
Schuyler's  feelings  as  a  gentleman  induce  him  to  consent  that 
Sir  John  Johnson  may  retain  the  few  favorite  family  arms,  he 
making  a  list  of  them.  General  Schuyler  never  refused  a  gen- 
tleman his  side-arms." 

The  capitulation  being  adjusted,  Schuyler  ordered  his  troops 
to  be  drawn  up  in  line  at  noon  (Jan.  20th),  between  his 
quarters  and  the  court-house,  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the 
Highlanders,  enjoining  profound  silence  on  his  officers  and 
men,  when  the  surrender  should  be  made.  Everything  was 
conducted  with  great  regard  to  the  feelings  of  Sir  John's 
Scottish  adherents ;  they  marched  to  the  front,  grounded  their 
arms,  and  were  dismissed  with  exhortations  to  good  behavior. 

The  conduct  of  Schuyler  throughout  this  affair  drew  forth  a 
resolution  of  Congress  applauding  him  for  his  fidelity,  prudence, 
and  expedition,  and  the  proper  temper  he  had  maintained 
toward  the  "  deluded  people  "  in  question.     Washington,  too, 


404  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

congratulated  him  on  his  success.  "I  hope/'  writes  he, 
"  General  Lee  will  execute  a  work  of  the  same  kind  on  Long 
Island.  It  is  high  time  to  begin  with  our  internal  foes,  when 
we  are  threatened  with  such  severity  of  chastisement  from  our 
kind  parent  without.'^ 

The  recent  reverses  in  Canada  had,  in  fact,  heightened  the 
solicitude  of  Washington  about  the  province  of  New  York. 
That  province  was  the  central  and  all-important  link  in  the  con- 
federacy ;  but  he  feared  it  might  prove  a  brittle  one.  We  have 
already  mentioned  the  adverse  influences  in  oj^eration  there.  A 
large  number  of  friends  to  the  crown,  among  the  official  and 
commercial  classes  ;  rank  tories  (as  they  were  called),  in  the 
city  and  about  the  neighboring  country,  particularly  on  Long 
and  Staten  Islands ;  king's  ships  at  anchor  in  the  bay  and 
harbor,  keeping  up  a  suspicious  intercourse  with  the  citi- 
zens, while  Governor  Tryon,  castled,  as  it  were,  on  board 
one  of  these  ships,  carried  on  intrigues  with  those  disaffected 
to  the  popular  cause,  in  all  parts  of  the  neighborhood.  County 
committees  had  been  empowered  by  the  New  York  Congress 
and  Convention,  to  appreliend  all  persons  notoriously  disaffect- 
ed, to  examine  into  their  conduct,  and  ascertain  whether  they 
were  guilty  of  any  hostile  act  or  machination.  Imprisonment 
or  banishment  was  the  penalty.  The  committees  could  call 
upon  the  militia  to  aid  in  the  discharge  of  their  functions. 
Still,  disaffection  to  the  cause  was  said  to  be  rife  in  the  prov- 
ince, and  Washington  looked  to  General  Lee  for  effective 
measures  to  suppress  it. 

Lee  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  4th  of  February,  his  caustic 
liumors  sharpened  by  a  severe  attack  of  the  gout,  which  had 
rendered  it  necessary,  while  on  tlie  march,  to  carry  him  for  a 
considerable  part  of  the  way  in  a  litter.  His  correspondence  is 
a  complete  mental  barometer.  "  I  consider  it  as  a  piece  of  the 
greatest  good  fortune,"  writes  he  to  Washington  (Feb.  5th), 
"that  the  Congress  have  detached  a  committee  to  this  j^lace, 
otherwise  I  should  have  made  a  most  ridiculous  figure,  besides 
bringing  upon  myself  the  enmity  of  the  whole  province.  My 
hands  were  effectually  tied  up  from  taking  any  step  necessary 
for  the  public  service  by  the  late  resolve  of  Congress,  putting 
every  detachment  of  the  continental  forces  under  the  command 
of  the  Provincial  Congress  where  such  detachment  is." 

By  a  singular  coincidence,  on  the  very  day  of  his  arrival. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  the  squadron  which  had  sailed  so 
mysteriously  from  Boston,  looked  into  the  harbor.  "  Though 
it  was  Sabbath,"  says  a  letter-writer  of  the  day,  "  it  threw  tlie 
whole  citv  into    such    a    convulsion    as    it    never  knew  before. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  405 

Many  of  the  inhabitants  hastened  to  move  their  effects  into  the 
country,  expecting  an  immediate  conflict.  All  that  day  and 
all  night,  were  there  carts  going  iind  boats  loading,  and  women 
and  children  crying,  and  distressed  voices  heard  in  the  roads  in 
the  dead  of  the  night.''  "* 

Clinton  sent  for  the  mayor,  and  expressed  much  surprise  and 
concern  at  the  distress  caused  by  his  arrival;  which  was  merely, 
he  said,  on  a  short  visit  to  his  friend  Tryon,  and  to  see  how 
matters  stood.  He  professed  a  juvenile  love  for  the  place,  and 
desired  that  the  inhabitants  might  be  informed  of  the  purport 
of  his  visit,  and  that  he  would  go  away  as  soon  as  possible. 

"  He  brought  no  troops  with  him,"  writes  Lee,  "  and  pledges 
his  honor  that  none  are  coming.  He  says  it  is  merely  a  visit 
to  his  friend  Tryon.  If  it  is  really  so,  it  is  the  most  whimsical 
piece  of  civility  I  ever  heard  of." 

A  gentleman  in  New  York,  writing  to  a  friend  in  Phila- 
delphia, reports  one  of  the  general's  characteristic  menaces, 
which  kept  the  town  in  a  fever : — 

"  Lee  says  he  will  send  word  on  board  of  the  men-of-war, 
that,  if  they  set  a  house  on  fire,  he  will  chain  a  hundred  of 
their  friends  by  the  neck,  and  make  the  house  their  funeral 
pile."  t 

For  this  time,  the  inhabitants  of  New  York  were  let  off  for 
their  fears.  Clinton,  after  a  brief  visit,  continued  his  myster- 
ious cruise,  openly  avowing  his  destination  to  be  North  Caro- 
lina— which  nobody  believed,  simply  because  he  avowed  it. 

The  Duke  of  Manchester,  speaking  in  the  House  of  Lords  of 
the  conduct  of  Clinton,  contrasts  it  with  that  of  Lord  Dunmore, 
who  wrapped  Norfolk  in  flames.  "  I  will  pass  no  censure  on 
that  noble  lord,"  said  he,  "  but  I  could  wish  that  he  had  acted 
with  that  generous  spirit  that  forbade  Clinton  uselessly  to  des- 
stroy  the  town  of  New  York.  My  lords,  Clinton  visited  New 
York  ;  the  inhabitants  expected  its  destruction.  Lee  appeared 
before  it  with  an  army  too  powerful  to  be  attacked,  and  Clinton 
passed  by  without  doing  any  wanton  damage." 

The  necessity  of  conferring  with  committees  at  every  step, 
was  a  hard  restraint  upon  a  man  of  Lee's  ardent  and  impatient 
temper,  who  had  a  soldierlike  contempt  for  the  men  of  peace 
around  him ;  yet  at  the  outset  he  bore  it  better  than  might 
have  been  expected. 

"The  Congress  committees,  a  certain  number  of  the  commit- 
tees of  safety,  and  your  humble  servant,"  writes  he  to  Wash- 
ington, "have  had  two  conferences.     The  result  is  such  as  will 

*  Bemembrancer,  vol.  iii. 

t  Am.  ArchiveSy  5th  Series,  iv.  941. 


406  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

agreeably  surprise  you.  It  is  in  the  first  place  agreed,  and 
justly,  that  to  fortify  the  town  against  shipping  is  impracticable ; 
but  we  are  to  fortify  lodgments  on  some  commanding  part  of 
the  city  for  two  thousand  men.  We  are  to  erect  inclosed  bat- 
teries on  both  sides  of  the  water,  near  Hell  Gate,  which  will 
answer  the  double  purpose  of  securing  the  town  against  pira- 
cies through  the  Sound,  and  secure  our  communication  with 
Long  Island,  now  become  a  more  important  point  than  ever ; 
as  it  is  determined  to  form  a  strong  fortified  camp  of  three 
thousand  men,  on  the  island,  immediately  opposite  to  New  York. 
The  pass  in  the  Highlands  is  to  be  made  as  respectable  as  pos- 
sible, and  guarded  by  a  battalion.  In  short,  I  think  the  plan 
judicious  and  complete." 

The  pass  in  the  Highlands  above  alluded  to,  is  that  grand 
defile  of  the  Hudson,  where,  for  upwards  of  fifteen  miles,  it 
wends  its  deep  channel  between  stern,  forest-clad  mountains 
and  rocky  promontories.  Two  forts,  about  six  miles  distant 
from  each  other,  and  commanding  narrow  parts  of  the  river  at 
its  bends  through  these  Highlands,  had  been  commenced  in  the 
preceding  autumn,  by  order  of  the  Continental  Congress  ;  but 
they  were  said  to  be  insufficient  for  the  security  of  that  import- 
ant pass,  and  were  to  be  extendq^  and  strengthened. 

Washington  had  charged  Lee,  in  his  instructions,  to  keep  a 
stern  eye  upon  the  tories,  who  were  active  in  New  York.  "  You 
can  seize  upon  the  persons  of  the  principals,"  said  he ;  "  they 
must  be  so  notoriously  known,  that  there  will  be  little  danger 
of  committing  mistakes."  Lee  acted  up  to  the  letter  of  these 
instructions,  and  weeded  out  with  a  vigorous  hand  some  of  the 
rankest  of  the  growth.  This  gave  great  offense  to  the  peace- 
loving  citizene,  who  insisted  that  he  was  arrogating  a  power 
vested  solely  in  the  civil  authority.  One  of  them,  well-affected  to 
the  cause,  writes,  "  To  see  the  vast  number  of  houses  shut  up,  one 
would  think  the  city  almost  evacuated.  Women  and  children  are 
scarcely  to  be  seen  in  the  streets.  Troops  are  daily  coming  in  ; 
they  break  open  and  quarter  themselves  in  any  house  they  find 
shut."  * 

The  enemy,  too,  regarded  his  measures  with  apprehension 
"  That  arch  rebel  Lee,"  writes  a  British  officer,  "  has  driven  all 
the  well-affected  people  from  the  town  of  New  York.  If  some- 
thing is  not  speedily  done.  His  Britannic  Majesty's  American 
dominions  will  be  confined  within  a  very  narrow  compass."  t 

In  the  exercise  of  his  military  functions,  Lee  set  Governor 
Trj^on  and  the  captain   of   the  Asia  at  defiance.     "  They  had 

*  Fred.  Rhinelander  to  Peter  Van  Schaack,  Feb.  23. 
t  Am.  Archives,  v.  425. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  407 

threatened  perdition  to  the  town/'  writes  he  to  Washington, 
"  if  the  cannon  were  removed  from  the  batteries  and  wharves, 
but  I  ever  considered  their  threats  as  a  brutum  fulmen,  and 
even  persuaded  the  town  to  be  of  the  same  way  of  thinking. 
We  accordingly  conveyed  them  to  a  place  of  safety  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  day,  and  no  cannonade  ensued.  Captain  Parker 
publishes  a  pleasant  reason  for  his  passive  conduct.  He  says 
that  it  was  manifestly  my  intention,  and  that  of  the  New  Eng- 
land men  under  my  command,  to  bring  destruction  on  this 
town,  so  hated  for  their  loyal  principles,  but  that  he  was  de- 
termined not  to  indulge  us  ;  so  remained  quiet  out  of  spite. 
The  people  here  laugh  at  his  nonsense,  and  begin  to  despise  the 
menaces  which  formerly  used  to  throw  them  into  convulsions." 

Washington  appears  to  have  shared  the  merriment.  In  his 
reply  to  Lee,  he  writes,  "I  could  not  avoid  laughing  at  Captain 
Parker's  reasons  for  not  putting  his  repeated  threats  into  ex- 
ecution,''— a  proof,  by  the  way,  under  his  own  hand,  that  he 
could  laugh  occasionally ;  and  even  when  surrounded  by  per- 
plexities. 

According  to  Lee's  account,  the  New  Yorkers  showed  a  wonder- 
ful alacrity  in  removing  the  cannon.  "  Men  and  boys  of  all  ages," 
writes  he,  '^  worked  with  the  greatest  zeal  and  pleasure.  I 
really  believe  the  generality  are  as  well  affected  as  any  on  the 
continent."  Some  of  the  well-affected,  however,  thought  he 
was  rather  too  self-willed  and  high-handed.  "  Though  General 
Lee  has  many  things  to  recommend  him  as  a  general,"  writes 
one  of  them,  "  yet  I  think  he  was  out  of  luck  when  he  ordered 
the  removal  of  the  guns  from  the  battery  ;  as  it  was  without 
the  approbation  or  knowledge  of  our  Congress."  ^ — Lee  seldom 
waited  for  the  approbation  of  Congress  in  moments  of  exigency. 

He  now  proceeded  with  his  plan  of  defenses.  A  strong  re- 
doubt, capable  of  holding  three  hundred  men,  was  commenced 
at  Horen's  Hook,  commanding  the  pass  at  Hell  Gate,  so  as  to 
block  up  from  the  enemy's  ships  the  passage  between  the  main- 
land and  Long  Island.  A  regiment  was  stationed  on  the  isl- 
and, making  fascines,  and  preparing  other  materials  for  con- 
structing the  works  for  an  intrenched  camp,  which,  Lee  hoped 
would  render  it  impossible  for  the  enemy  to  get  a  footing  there. 
"  What  to  do  with  this  city,"-  writes  he  •'  I  own,  puzzles  me.  It  is 
so  encircled  with  deep  navigable  water,  that  whoever  commands 
the  sea  must  command  the  town.  To-morrow  I  shall  begin  to  dis- 
mantle that  part  of  the  fort  next  to  the  town,  to  prevent  its  be- 
ing converted  into  a  citadel.  I  shall  barrier  the  principal 
streets,  and,  at  least,  if  I  cannot  make  it  a  continental  garrison^ 
*Fred.  Rhinelander  to  Peter  Yan  Scheadk,  Feb.  23 


408  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

it  shall  be  a  disputable  field  of  battle."  Batteries  were  to  be 
erected  on  an  eminence  behind  Trinity  Church,  to  keep  the 
enemy's  ships  at  so  great  a  distance  as  not  to  injure  the 
town. 

King's  Bridge,  at  the  upper  end  of  Manhattan  or  New  York 
Island,  linking  it  with  the  main  land,  was  pronounced  by  Lee 
"  a  most  important  pass,  without  which  the  city  could  have  no 
communication  with  Connecticut."  It  was,  therefore,  to  be  made 
as  strong  as  possible. 

Heavy  cannon  were  to  be  sent  up  to  the  forts  in  the  High- 
lands, which  were  to  be  enlarged  and  strengthened. 

In  the  midst  of  his  schemes,  Lee  received  orders  from  Con- 
gress to  the  command  in  Canada,  vacant  by  the  death  of  Mont- 
gomery. He  bewailed  the  defenseless  condition  of  the  city ; 
the  Continental  Congress,  as  he  said,  not  having  as  yet  taken 
the  least  step  for  its  security.  "  The  instant  I  leave  it,"  said 
he,  "  I  conclude  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  inhabitants  in 
general,  will  relapse  into  their  former  hysterics.  The  men-of-war 
and  Mr.  Tryon  will  return  to  their  old  station  at  the  wharves, 
and  the  j&rst  regiments  who  arrive  from  England  will  take  quiet 
possession  of  the  town  and  Long  Island." 

It  must  be  observed  that,  in  consequence  of  his  military  de- 
monstrations in  the  city,  the  enemy's  ships  had  drawn  off  and 
dropped  down  the  bay ;  and  he  had  taken  vigorous  measures, 
without  consulting  the  committees,  to  put  an  end  to  the  practice 
of  supplyilig  them  with  provisions. 

"  Governor  Tryon  and  the  Asia/'  writes  he,  to  Washington, 
"  continue  between  Nutten  and  Bedlow's  Islands.  It  has  pleased 
his  Excellency,  in  violation  of  the  compact  he  has  made,  to  seize 
several  vessels  from  Jersey  laden  with  flour.  It  has,  in  return, 
i)leased  my  Excellency  to  stop  all  provisions  from  the  city,  and 
cut  off  all  intercourse  with  him, — a  measure  which  has  thrown 
the  mayor,  council,  and  tories  into  agonies.  The  propensity, 
or  rather  rage,  for  paying  court  to  this  great  man,  is  inconceiv- 
able. They  cannot  be  weaned  from  him.  We  must  put  worm- 
wood on  his  paps,  or  they  will  cry  to  suck,  as  they  are  in  their 
second  childhood." 

We  would  observe  in  explanation  of  a  sarcasm  in  the  above 
quoted  letter,  that  Lee  professed  a  great  contempt  for  the  titles 
of  respect  which  it  was  the  custom  to  prefix  to  the  names  of 
men  in  office  or  command.  He  scoffed  at  them  as  unworthy  of 
"  a  great,  free,  manly,  equal  commonwealth."  "  For  my  own 
part,"  said  he,  "  I  would  as  lief  they  would  put  ratsbane  in  m}^ 
mouth,  as  the  Excellency  with  which  I  am  daily  crammed. 
How  much  more  true  dignity  was  there  in  the  simplicity  of  ad- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  409 

dress  among  the  E,omaiis  !  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero,  Decius 
Bruto  Imperatori,  or  Caio  Marcello  Consuli,  than  to  ^  His  Ex- 
cellency Major-general  Noodle/  or  to  the  ^  Honorable  John 
Doodle/  " 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

MONOTONOUS  STATE  OF  AFFAIRS  BEFORE    BOSTON. WASHING- 
TON    ANXIOUS      FOR     ACTION. EXPLOIT     OF     PUTNAM. ITS 

DRAMATIC  CONSEQUENCES. THE  FARCE    OF    THE    BLOCKADE 

OF  BOSTON. AN  ALARMING  INTERRUPTION. DISTRESSES  OF 

THE    BESIEGED. WASHINGTON'S    IRKSOME    PREDICAMENT. 

HIS  BOLD  PROPOSITION. DEMUR  OF    THE    COUNCIL  OF    WAR. 

ARRIVAL       OF       KNOX       WITH      ARTILLERY. DORCHESTER 

HEIGHTS  TO  BE  SEIZED  AND  FORTIFIED. PREPARATIONS  FOR 

THE  ATTEMPT. 

The  siege  of  Boston  continued  through  the  winter,  without 
any  striking  incident  to  enliven  its  monotony.  The  British  re- 
mained within  their  works,  leaving  the  beleaguering  army  slow- 
ly to  augment  its  forces.  The  country  was  dissatisfied  with 
the  inaction  of  the  latter.  Even  Congress  was  anxious  for 
some  successful  blow  that  might  revive  popular  enthusiasm. 
Washington  shared  this  anxiety,  and  had  repeatedly,  in  councils 
of  war,  suggested  an  attack  upon  the  town,  but  had  found  a 
majority  of  his  general  officers  opposed  to  it.  He  had  hoped 
some  favorable  opportunity  would  present,  when,  the  harbor 
being  frozen,  the  troops  might  approach  the  town  upon  the  ice. 
The  winter,  however,  though  severe  at  first,  proved  a  mild  one, 
and  the  bay  continued  open.  General  Putnam,  in  the  mean- 
time, having  completed  the  new  works  at  Lechmere  Point,  and 
being  desirous  of  keeping  up  the  spirit  of  his  men,  resolved  to 
treat  them  to  an  exploit.  Accordingly,  from  his  "impregnable 
fortress  "  of  Cobble  Hill,  he  detached  a  party  of  about  two  hun- 
dred, under  his  favorite  officer.  Major  Knowlton,  to  surprise 
and  capture  a  British  guard  stationed  at  Charlestown.  It  was 
a  daring  enterprise,  and  executed  with  spirit.  As  Charlestown 
Neck  was  completely  protected,  Knowlton  led  his  men  across 
the  mill-dam,  round  the  base  of  the  hill,  and  immediately  below 
the  fort ;  set  fire  to  the  guard-house  and  some  buildings  in  its 
vicinity  ;  made  several  prisoners,  and  retired  without  loss, 
although  thundered  upon  by  the  cannon  of  the  fort.     The  ex- 


410  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ploit  was  attended  by  a  dramatic  effect  on  which  Putnam  had 
not  calculated.  The  British  officers,  early  in  the  winter,  had 
fitted  up  a  theatre,  which  was  well  attended  by  the  troops  and 
tories.  On  the  evening  in  question,  an  afterpiece  was  to  be 
performed,  entitled,  "  The  Blockade  of  Boston,"  intended  as  a 
burlesque  on  the  patriot  army  which  was  beleaguering  it. 
Washington  is  said  to  have  been  represented  in  it  as  an  awk- 
ward lout,  equipped  with  a  huge  wig,  and  a  long  rusty  sword,  at- 
tended by  a  country  booby  as  orderly  sergeant,  in  rustic  garb, 
with  an  old  firelock  seven  or  eight  feet  long. 

The  theatre  was  crowded,  especially  by  the  military.  The 
first  piece  was  over,  anjd  the  curtain  was  rising  for  the  farce, 
when  a  sergeant  made  his  appearance,  and  announced  that 
"  the  alarm  guns  were  firing  at  Charlestown,  and  the  Yankees 
attacking  Bunker's  Hill."  At  first  this  was  supposed  to  be  a 
part  of  the  entertainment,  until  General  Howe  gave  the  word, 
"  Officers,  to  your  alarm  posts." 

Great  confusion  ensued ;  every  one  scrambled  out  of  the 
theatre  as  fast  as  possible.  There  was,  as  usual,  some  shrieking 
and  fainting  of  ladies  ;  and  the  farce  of  "  The  Blockade  of  Bos- 
ton "  had  a  more  serious  than  comic  termination. 

The  London  "  Chronicle,"  in  a  sneering  comment  on  Boston 
affairs,  gave  Burgoyne  as  the  author  of  this  burlesque  afterpiece, 
though  perhaps  unjustly.  "  General  Burgoyne  has  opened  a 
theatrical  campaign,  of  which  himself  is  sole  manager,  being 
determined  to  act  with  the  provincials  on  the  defensive  only. 
Tom  Thumb  has  been  already  represented ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  provincials  are  preparing  to  exhibit,  early  in  the 
spring,  '•  Measure  for  Measure.'  " 

The  British  officers,  like  all  soldiers  by  profession,  endeavored 
to  while  away  the  time  by  every  amusement  within  their  reach ; 
but  in  truth,  the  condition  of  the  besieged  town  was  daily  be- 
coming more  and  more  distressing.  The  inhabitants  were 
without  flour,  pulse,  or  vegetables ;  the  troops  were  nearly  as 
destitute.  There  was  a  lack  of  fuel,  too,  as  well  as  food.  The 
small-pox  broke  out,  and  it  was  necessary  to  inoculate  the 
army.  Men,  women,  and  children  either  left  the  city  volunta- 
rily, or  were  sent  out  of  it  ;  yet  the  distress  increased.  Several 
houses  were  broken  open  and  plundered  ;  others  were  demol- 
ished by  the  soldiery  for  fuel.  General  Howe  resorted  to  the 
sternest  measures  to  put  a  stop  to  these  excesses.  The  provost 
Was  ordered  to  go  the  rounds  with  the  hangman,  and  hang  up 
the  first  man  he  should  detect  in  the  act,  without  waiting  for 
further  proof  for  trial.  Offenders  were  punished  with  four 
hundred,  six  hundred,  and  even  one  thousand  lashes.    The  wife 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  411 

of  a  private  soldier,  convicted  of  receiving  stolen  goods,  was 
sentenced  to  one  hundred  lashes  on  her  bare  back,  at  the  cart's 
tail,  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  and  an  ijnprisonment  of 
three  months. 

Meanwhile,  Washington  was  incessantly  goaded  by  the  im- 
patient murmurs  of  the  public,  as  we  may  judge  by  his  letters 
to  Mr.  Keed.  "  I  know  the  integrity  of  my  own  heart,"  writes 
he,  on  the  10th  of  February ;  "  but  to  declare  it,  unless  to  a 
friend,  may  be  an  argument  of  vanity.  I  know  the  unhapj^y 
predicament  I  stand  in  ;  I  know  that  much  is  expected  of  me  ;  I 
know  that,  without  men,  without  arms,  without  ammunition, 
without  anything  fit  for  the  accommodation  of  a  soldier,  little 
is  to  be  done  ;  and,  what  is  mortifying,  I  know  that  I  cannot 
stand  justified  to  the  world  without  exposing  my  own  weakness, 
and  injuring  the  cause,  by  declaring  my  wants  ;  which  I  am 
determined  not  to  do,  further  then  unavoidable  necessity  brings 
every  man  acquainted  with  them. 

"  My  own  situation  is  so  irksome  to  me  at  times,  that,  if  I 
did  not  consult  the  public  good  more  than  my  own  tranquillity, 
I  should  long  ere  this  have  put  everything  on  the  cast  of  a  die. 
So  far  from  my  having  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  well 
armed,  I  have  been  here  with  less  than  one  half  of  that  number, 
including  sick,  furloughed,  and  on  command;  and  those  neither 
armed  nor  clothed  as  they  should  be.  In  short,  my  situation 
has  been  such,  that  I  have  been  obliged  to  use  art  to  conceal  it 
from  my  own  officers." 

How  precious  are  those  letters  !  And  how  fortunate  that  the 
absence  of  Mr.  Keed  from  camp,  should  have  procured  for  us 
such  confidential  outpourings  of  Washington's  heart  at  this 
time  of  its  great  trial. 

He  still  adhered  to  his  opinion  in  favor  of  an  attempt  upon 
the  town.  He  was  aware  that  it  would  be  attended  with  con- 
siderable loss,  but  believed  it  would  be  successful  if  the  men 
should  behave  well.  Within  a  few  days  after  the  date  of  this 
letter,  the  bay  became  sufficiently  frozen  for  the  transportation 
of  troops.  "  This,"  writes  he  to  E,eed,  "  I  thought,  knowing 
the  ice  would  not  last,  a  favorable  opportunity  to  make  an  as- 
sault upon  the  troops  in  town.  I  proposed  it  in  council ;  but 
behold,  though  we  had  been  waiting  all  the  year  for  this  favor- 
able event,  the  enterprise  was  thought  too  dangerous.  Per- 
haps it  was  ;  perhaps  the  irksomeness  of  my  situation  led  me 
to  undertake  more  than  could  be  warranted  by  prudence.  I 
did  not  think  so,  and  I  am  sure  yet  that  the  enterprise,  if  it 
had  been  undertaken  with  resolution,  must  have  succeeded ; 
without  it,  any  would  fail," 


412  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

His  proposition  was  too  bold  for  the  field-officers  assembled  in 
council  (Feb.  16th),  who  objected  that  there  was  not  force,  nor 
arms  and  ammunition  sufficient  in  camp  for  such  an  attempt. 
Washington  acquiesced  in  the  decision,  it  being  almost  unani- 
mous ;  yet  he  felt  the  irksomeness  of  his  situation.  "  To  have 
the  eyes  of  the  whole  continent,"  said  he,  "  fixed  with  anxious 
expectation  of  hearing  of  some  great  event,  and  to  be  restrained 
in  every  military  operation  for  want  of  the  necessary  means  of 
carrying  it  on,  is  not  very  pleasing,  especially  as  the  means 
used  to  conceal  my  weakness  from  the  enemy,  conceal  it  also 
from  our  friends,  and  add  to  their  wonder." 

In  the  council  of  war  above  mentioned,  a  cannonade  and  bom- 
bardment were  considered  advisable,  as  soon  as  there  should  be 
a  sufficiency  of  powder  ;  in  the  meantime,  preparations  might 
be  made  for  taking  possession  of  Dorchester  Heights  and  Nod- 
dle's Island. 

At  length  the  camp  was  rejoiced  by  the  arrival  of  Colonel 
Knox,  with  his  long  train  of  sledges  drawn  by  oxen,  bringing 
more  than  fifty  cannon,  mortars,  and  howitzers,  besides  supplies 
of  lead  and  flints.  The  zeal  and  perseverance  which  he  had 
displayed  in  his  wintry  expedition  across  frozen  lakes  and 
snowy  wastes,  and  the  intelligence  with  which  he  had  fulfilled 
his  instructions,  won  him  the  entire  confidence  of  Washington. 
His  conduct  in  this  enterprise  was  but  an  earnest  of  that  energy 
and  ability  which  he  displayed  throughout  the  war. 

Further  ammunition  being  received  from  the  royal  arsenal  at 
New  York,  and  other  quarters,  and  a  reinforcement  of  ten  regi- 
ments of  militia,  Washington  no  longer  met  with  opposition  to 
his  warlike  measures.  Lechmere  Point,  which  Putnam  had 
fortified,  was  immediately  to  be  supplied  with  mortars  and 
heavy  cannon,  so  as  to  command  Boston  on  the  north ;  and 
Dorchester  Heights,  on  the  south  of  the  town,  were  forthwith  to 
be  taken  possession  of.  "  If  anything,"  said  Washington,  "  will 
induce  the  enemy  to  hazard  an  engagement,  it  will  be  our  at- 
tempting to  fortify  those  heights,  as,  in  that  event  taking  place, 
we  shall  be  able  to  command  a  great  part  of  the  town,  and  al- 
most the  whole  harbor."  Their  possession,  moreover,  would 
enable  him  to  push  his  works  to  Nook's  Hill,  and  other  points 
opposite  Boston,  whence  a  cannonade  and  bombardment  must 
drive  the  enemy  from  the  city. 

The  council  of  Massachusetts,  at  his  request,  ordered  the 
militia  of  the  towns  contiguous  to  Dorchester  and  Boxbury,  to 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  repair  to  the  lines  at  those 
places  with  arms,  ammunition,  and  accoutrements,  on  receiving 
a  preconcerted  signal. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  413 

Washington  felt  painfully  aware  how  much  depended  upon 
the  success  of  this  attempt.  There  was  a  cloud  of  gloom  and 
distrust  lowering  upon  the  public  mind.  Danger  threatened  on 
the  north  and  on  the  south.  Montgomery  had  fallen  before  the 
walls  of  Quebec.  The  army  in  Canada  was  shattered.  Tryon 
and  the  tories  wer.e  plotting  mischief  in  New  York.  Dunmore 
was  harassing  the  lower  part  of  Virginia,  and  Clinton  and  his 
fleet  were  prowling  along  the  coast,  on  a  secret  errand  of  mis- 
chief. 

Washington's  general  orders  evince  the  solemn  and  anxious 
state  of  his  feelings.  In  those  of  the  26th  of  February,  he 
forbade  all  playing  at  cards  and  other  games  of  chance.  "At 
this  time  of  public  distress,"  writes  he,  "  men  may  find  enough 
to  do  in  the  service  of  God  and  their  country,  without  abandon- 
ing themselves  to  vice  and  immorality It  is  a 

noble  cause  we  are  engaged  in  ;  it  is  the  cause  of  virtue  and 
mankind ;  every  advantage  and  comfort  to  us  and  our  posterity 
depend  upon  the  vigor  of  our  exertions ;  in  short,  freedom  or 
slavery  must  be  the  result  of  our  conduct ;  there  can,  therefore, 
be  go  greater  inducement  to  men  to  behave  well.  But  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  the  troops  to  know,  that  if  any  man  in  action 
shall  presume  to  skulk,  hide  himself,  or  retreat  from  the  enemy 
without  the  orders  of  his  commanding  officer,  he  will  be  instant- 
ly shot  down  as  an  example  of  cowardice ;  cowards  having  too 
frequently  disconcerted  the  best  formed  troops  by  their  dastardly 
behavior." 

In  the  general  plan  it  was  concerted  that,  should  the  enemy 
detach  a  large  force  to  dislodge  our  men  from  Dorchester 
Heights,  as  had  been  done  in  the  affair  of  Bunker's  Hill,  an 
attack  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  town  should  forthwith  be 
made  by  General  Putnam.  For  this  purpose  he  was  to  have 
four  thousand  picked  men  in  readiness,  in  two  divisions,  under 
Generals  Sullivan  and  Greene.  At  a  concerted  signal  from 
Eoxbury,  they  were  to  embark  in  boats  near  the  mouth  of 
Charles  River,  cross  under  cover  of  the  fire  of  three  floating 
batteries,  land  in  two  places  in  Boston,  secure  its  strong  posts, 
force  the  gates  and  works  at  the  Neck,  and  let  in  the  Eoxbury 
troops. 


414  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

THE  AFFAIR  OF  DORCHESTER  HEIGHTS. AMERICAN  AND  ENG- 
LISH LETTERS  RESPECTING  IT. A  LABORIOUS  NIGHT. REVE- 
LATIONS AT  DAYBREAK. HOWE  IN  A  PERPLEXITY. A  NIGHT 

ATTACK  MEDITATED. STORMY  WEATHER. THE  TOWN  TO  BE 

EVACUATED. NEGOTIATIONS  AND  ARRANGEMENTS. PREPA- 
RATIONS  TO   EMBARK. EXCESSES    OF    THE    TROOPS. BOSTON 

EVACUATED. SPEECH  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  MANCHESTER  ON  THE 

SUBJECT, A  MEDAL  VOTED  BY  CONGRESS. 

The  evening  of  Monday,  the  4tli  of  March,  was  fixed  upon 
for  the  occupation  of  Dorchester  Heights.  The  ground  was 
frozen  too  hard  to  he  easily  intrenched ;  fascines,  therefore,  and 
gahions,  and  bundles  of  screwed  hay,  were  collected  during  the 
two  preceding  nights,  with  which  to  form  breastworks  and  re- 
doubts. During  these  two  busy  nights  the  enemy's  batteries 
were  cannonaded  and  bombarded  from  opposite  points,  to  occupy 
their  attention,  and  prevent  their  noticing  these  preparations. 
They  replied  with  spirit,  and  the  incessant  roar  of  artillery  thus 
kept  up,  covered  completely  the  rumbling  of  wagons  and  ord- 
nance. 

How  little  the  enemy  were  aware  of  what  was  impending,  we 
may  gather  from  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  an  officer 
of  distinction  in  the  British  army  in  Boston  to  his  friend  in 
London,  dated  on  the  3d  of  March : — 

"  For  these  last  six  weeks  or  near  two  months  we  have  been 
better  amused  than  could  possibly  be  expected  in  bur  situation. 
We  had  a  theatre,  we  had  balls,  and  there  is  actually  a  sub- 
scription on  foot  for  a  masquerade.  England  seems  to  have  for- 
got us,  and  we  have  endeavored  to  forget  ourselves.  But  we  were 
roused  to  a  sense  of  our  situation  last  night,  in  a  manner  un- 
pleasant enough.  The  rebels  have  been  for  some  time  past 
erecting  a  bomb  battery,  and  last  night  began  to  play  upon  us. 
Two  shells  fell  not  far  from  me.  One  fell  upon  Colonel  Monck- 
ton's  house,  but  luckily  did  not  burst  until  it  had  crossed  the 
street.  Many  houses  were  damaged,  but  no  lives  lost.  The 
rebel  army,"  adds  he,  "  is  not  brave,  I  believe,  but  it  is  agreed 
on  all  hands  that  their  artillery  officers  are  at  least  equal  to 
ours."  * 

*  Am,  Archives,  4th  Series,  v.  425.  • 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  415 

The  wife  of  John  Adams,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
American  camp,  and  knew  that  a  general  action  was  meditated, 
expresses  in  a  letter  to  her  husband  the  feelings  of  a  patriot 
woman  during  the  suspense  of  these  nights. 

"  I  have  been  in  a  constant  state  of  anxiety  since  you  left  me," 
writes  she  on  Saturday.  "  It  has  been  said  to-morrow,  and  to- 
morrow for  this  month,  and  when  the  dreadful"  to-morrow  will 
be,  I  know  not.  But  hark !  The  house  this  instant  shakes  with 
the  roar  of  cannon.  I  have  been  to  the  door,  and  find  it  is  a 
cannonade  from  our  army.  Orders,  I  find,  are  come,  for  all  the 
remaining  militia  to  repair  to  the  lines  Monday  night,  by  twelve 
o'clock.     No  sleep  for  me  to-night." 

On  Sunday  the  letter  is  resumed.  "  I  went  to  bed  after 
twelve,  but  got  no  rest ;  the  cannon  continued  firing,  and  my 
heart  kept  pace  with  them  all  night.  We  have  had  a  pretty 
quiet  day,  but  what  to-morrow  will  bring  forth,  God  only 
knows." 

On  Monday,  the  appointed  evening,  she  continues  :  "  I  have 
just  returned  from  Penn's  Hill,  where  I  have  been  sitting  to 
hear  the  amazing  roar  of  cannon,  and  from  whence  I  could  see 
every  shell  which  was  thrown.  The  sound,  I  think,  is  one  of  the 
grandest  in  nature,  and  is  of  the  true  species  of  the  sublime. 
'Tis  now  an  incessant  roar ;  but  0,  the  fatal  ideas  which  are 
connected  with  the  sound !  How  many  of  our  dear  countrymen 
must  fall ! 

"  I  went  to  bed  about  twelve,  and  arose  again  a  little  after 
one.  I  could  no  more  sleep  than  if  I  had  been  in  the  engage- 
ment ;  the  rattling  of  the  windows,  the  jar  of  the  house,  the 
continual  roar  of  twenty-four-pounders,  and  the  bursting  of 
shells,  give  us  such  ideas,  and  realize  a  scene  to  us  of  which  we 
could  scarcely  form  any  conceptions.  I  hope  to  give  you  joy  of 
Boston,  even  if  it  is  in  ruins,  before  I  send  this  away." 

On  the  Monday  evening  fhus  graphically  described,  as  soon 
as  the  firing  commenced,  the  detachment  under  Oeneral  Thomas 
set  out  on  its  cautious  and  secret  march  from  the  lines  of  Rox- 
bury  and  Dorchester.  Everything  was  conducted  as  regularly 
and  quietly  as  possible.  A  covering  party  of  eight  hundred  men 
preceded  the  carts  with  the  intrenching  tools ;  then  came 
General  Thomas  with  the  working  party,  twelve  hundred  strong, 
followed  by  a  train  of  three  hundred  wagons,  laden  with  fascines, 
gabions,  and  hay  screwed  into  bundles  of  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred-weight. A  great  number  of  such  bundles  were  ranged  in 
a  line  along  Dorchester  Neck  on  the  side  next  the  enemy,  to 
protect  the  troops,  while  passing,  from  being  raked  by  the  fire 
of  the  enemy.     Fortunately,  although  the  moon,  as  Washington 


416  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

writes,  was  shining  in  its  full  lustre,  the  flash  and  roar  of  can- 
nonry  from  opposite  points,  and  the  bursting  of  bombshells  high 
in  the  air,  so  engaged  and  diverted  the  attention  of  the  enemy, 
that  the  detachment  reached  the  heights  about  eight  o'clock, 
without  being  heard  or  perceived.  The  covering  party  then 
divided ;  one  half  proceeded  to  the  point  nearest  Boston,  the 
other  to  the  one  nearest  to  Castle  Williams.  The  working  party 
commenced  to  fortify,  under  the  directions  of  Gridley,  the  vet- 
eran engineer,  who  had  planned  the  works  on  Bunker's  Hill. 
It  was  severe  labor,  for  the  earth  was  frozen  eighteen  inches 
deep  ;  but  the  men  worked  with  more  than  their  usual  spirit, 
for  the  eye  of  the  commander-in-chief  was  upon  them.  Though 
not  called  there  by  his  duties,  Washington  could  not  be  absent 
from  this  eventful  operation.  An  eloquent  orator  has  imagined 
his  situation, — "  All  around  him  intense  movement ;  while 
nothing  was  to  be  heard  excepting  the  tread  of  busy  feet,  and 
the  dull  sound  of  the  mattock  upon  the  frozen  soil.  Beneath 
him  the  slumbering  batteries  of  the  castle  ;  the  roadsteads  and 
a  harbor  filled  with  the  vessels  of  the  royal  fleet,  motionless  ex- 
cept as  they  swung  round  at  their  moorings  at  the  turn  of  the 
midnight  tide  ;  the  beleaguered  city  occupied  with  a  power- 
ful army,  and  a  considerable  noncombatant  population,  startled 
into  unnatural  vigilance  by  the  incessant  and  destructive  can- 
nonade, yet  unobservant  of  the  great  operations  in  progress 
so  near  them ;  the  surrounding  country,  dotted  with  a  hundred 
rural  settlements,  roused  from  the  deep  sleep  of  a  New  England 
village,  by  the  unwonted  glare  and  tumult."  * 

The  same  plastic  fancy  suggests  the  crowd  of  visions,  phan- 
toms of  the  past,  which  may  have  passed  through  Washington's 
mind,  on  this  night  of  feverish  excitement.  "  His  early  train- 
ing in  the  wilderness  ;  his  escape  from  drowning,  and  the  deadly 
rifle  of  the  savage  in  the  perilous  mission  to  Venango ;  the 
shower  of  iron  hail  through  which  he  rode  unharmed  on  Brad- 
dock's  field ;  the  early  stages  of  the  great  conflict  now  brought 
to  its  crisis,  and,  still  more  solemnly,  the  possibilities  of  the 
future  for  himself  and  for  America — the  ruin  of  the  patriot 
cause  if  he  failed  at  the  outset  ;  the  triumphant  consolidation 
of  the  Revolution  if  he  prevailed." 

The  labors  of  the  night  were  carried  on  by  the  Americans 
with  their  usual  activity  and  address.  When  a  relief  party  ar- 
rived at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  two  forts  were  in  sufficient 
forwardness  to  furnish  protection  against  small-arms  and  grape- 
shot  ;  and  such  use  was  made  of  the  fascines  and  bundles  of 
screwed  hay,  that,  at  dawn,  a  formidable-looking  fortress  frowned 

*  Oration  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett  at  Dorchester,  July  4th,  1855. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  417 

along  the  height.  We  have  the  testimony  of  a  British  officer 
already  quoted,  for  the  fact.  "  This  morning  at  daybreak  we 
discovered  two  redoubts  on  Dorchester  Point,  and  two  smaller 
ones  on  their  flanks.  They  were  all  raised  during  the  last 
night,  with  an  expedition  equal  to  that  of  the  genii  belonging 
to  Aladdin's  wonderful  lamp.  From  these  hills  they  commaad 
the  whole  town,  so  that  we  must  drive  them  from  their  post,  or 
desert  the  place." 

Howe  gazed  at  the  mushroom  fortress  with  astonishment,  as 
it  loomed  indistinctly,  but  grandly,  through  a  morning  fog. 
"  The  rebels,"  exclaimed  he,  "  have  done  more  work  in  one 
night,  than    my  whole  army  would  have  done   in  one   month." 

Washington  had  watched,  with  intense  anxiety,  the  effect  of 
the  revelation  at  daybreak.  "  When  the  enemy  first  discovered 
our  works  in  the  morning,"  writes  he,  "  they  seemed  to  be  in 
great  confusion,  and  from  their  movements,  to  intend  an  attack." 

An  American,  who  was  on  Dorchester  Heights,  gives  a  picture 
of  the  scene.  A  tremendous  cannonade  was  commenced  from 
the  forts  in  Boston,  and  the  shipping  in  the  harbor.  "  Cannon 
shot,"  writes  he,  "are  continually  rolling  and  rebo.unding  over  the 
hill,  and  it  is  astonishing  to  observe  how  little  our  soldiers  are 
terrified  by  them.  The  royal  troops  are  perceived  to  be  in  motion, 
as  if  embarking  to  pass  the  harbor  and  land  on  Dorchester  shore, 
to  attack  our  works.  The  hills  and  elevations  in  this  vicinity 
are  covered  with  spectators,  to  witness  deeds  of  horror  in  the 
expected  conflict.  His  Excellency,  General  Washington,  is 
present,  animating  and  encouraging  the  soldiers,  and  they  in 
return  manifest  their  joy,  and  express  a  warm  desire  for  the 
approach  of  the  enemy  ;  each  man  knows  his  own  place.  Our 
breastworks  are  strengthened,  and  among  the  means  of  defense 
are  a  great  number  of  barrels,  filled  with  stones  and  sand,  and 
arranged  in  front  of  our  works,  which  are  to  be  put  in  motion, 
and  made  to  roll  down  the  hill,  to  break  the  legs  of  the  assail- 
ants as  they  advance." 

General  Thomas  was  reinforced  with  two  thousand  men. 
Old  Putnam  stood  ready  to  make  a  descent  upon  the  north  side 
of  the  town,  with  his  four  thousand  picked  men,  as  soon  as  the 
heights  on  the  south  should  be  assailed :  "  All  the  forenoon," 
says  the  American  above  cited,  "we  were  in  momentary  ex- 
pectation of  witnessing  an  awful  scene  ;  nothing  less  than  the 
carnage  of  Breed's  Hill  battle  was  expected." 

As  Washington  rode  about  the  heights,  he  reminded  the  troops 
that  it  was  the  5th  of  March,  the  anniversary  of  the  Boston  mas- 
sacre, and  called  on  them  to  revenge  the  slaughter  of  their 
brethren.     They  answered  him  with  shouts.     "  Our  oflicers  and 


418  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

men,"  writes  he,  "  appeared  impatient  for  the  appeal.  The  event^ 
I  think,  must  have  been  fortunate  ;  nothing  less  than  success 
and  victory  on  our  side." 

Howe,  in  the  meantime,  was  perplexed  between  his  pride  and 
the  hazards  of  his  position.  In  his  letters  to  the  ministry,  he 
had  scouted  the  idea  of  "being  in  danger  from  the  rebels." 
He  had  "  hoped  they  would  attack  him."  Apparently  they 
were  about  to  fulfill  his  hopes,  and  with  a  formidable  advan- 
tage of  position.  He  must  dislodge  them  from  Dorchester 
Heights,  or  evacuate  Boston.  The  latter  was  an  alternative 
too  mortifying  to  be  readily  adopted.  He  resolved  on  an  attack, 
but  it  was  to  be  a  night  one. 

"  A  body  of  light  infantry,  under  the  command  of  Major 
Mulgrave,  and  a  body  of  grenadiers,  are  to  embark  to-night  at 
seven,"  writes  the  gay  British  officer  already  quoted.  "  I  think 
it  likely  to  be  a  general  affair.  Adieu  balls,  masquerades,  etc., 
for  this  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  opening  of  the  campaign." 

In  the  evening  the  British  began  to  move.  Lord  Percy  was 
to  lead  the  attack.  Twenty-five  hundred  men  were  embarked 
in  transports,  which  were  to  convey  them  to  the  rendezvous  at 
Castle  Williams.  A  violent  storm  set  in  from  the  east.  The 
transports  could  not  reach  their  place  of  destination.  The  men- 
of-war  could  not  cover  and  support  them.  A  furious  surf  beat 
on  the  shore  where  the  boats  would  have  to  land.  The  attack 
was  consequently  postponed  until  the  following  day. 

That  day  was  equally  unpropitious.  The  storm  continued, 
with  torrents  of  rain.  The  attack  was  again  postponed.  In 
the  meantime,  the  Americans  went  on  strengthening  their 
works  ;  by  the  time  the  storm  subsided.  General  Howe  deemed 
them  too  strong  to  be  easily  carried  ;  the  attempt,  therefore, 
was  relinquished  altogether. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  shells  thrown  from  the  heights 
into  the  town,  proved  that  it  was  no  longer  tenable.  The  fleet 
was  equally  exposed.  Admiral  Shuldham,  the  successor  to 
Graves,  assured  Howe  that  if  the  Americans  maintained  pos- 
session of  the  heights,  his  ships  could  not  remain  in  the  harbor. 
It  was  determined,  therefore,  in  a  council  of  war,  to  evacuate 
the  place  as  soon  as  possible.  But  now  came  on  a  humiliating 
perplexity.  The  troops,  in  embarking,  would  be  exposed  to  a 
destructive  fire.  How  was  this  to  be  prevented  ?  General 
Howe's  pride  would  not  suffer  him  to  make  capitulations ;  he 
endeavored  to  work  on  the  fears  of  the  Bostonians,  by  hinting 
that  if  his  troops  were  molested  while  embarking,  he  might  be 
obliged  to  cover  their  retreat  by  setting  fire  to  the  town. 

The  hint  had  its  effect.     Several  of  the  principal  inhabitants 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  419 

communicated  with  liim  througli  tlie  medium  of  General  Rob- 
ertson. The  result  of  the  negotiation  was,  that  a  paper  was 
concocted  and  signed  by  several  of  the  "  selectmen  "  of  Boston, 
stating  the  fears  they  had  entertained  of  the  destruction 
of  the  place,  but  that  those  fears  had  been  quieted  by  Gen- 
eral Howe's  declaration  that  it  should  remain  uninjured, 
provided  his  troops  were  unmolested  while  embarking  ;  the  se- 
lectmen, therefore,  begged  ^^  some  assurance  that  so  dreadful  a 
calamity  might  not  be  brought  on,  by  any  measures  from  with- 
out." 

This  paper  was  sent  out  from  Boston,  on  the  evening  of  the 
8th,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  which  bore  it  to  the  American  lines 
at  Roxbury.  There  it  was  received  by  Colonel  Learned,  and 
carried  by  him  to  head-quarters.  Washington  consulted  with 
such  of  the  general  officers  as  he  could  immediately  assemble. 
The  paper  was  not  addressed  to  him,  nor  to  any  one  else.  It 
was  not  authenticated  by  the  signature  of  General  Howe  ;  nor 
was  there  any  other  act  obliging  that  commander  to  fulfill  the 
promise  asserted  to  have  been  made  by  him.  It  was  deemed 
proper,  therefore,  that  Washington  should  give  no  answer  to 
the  paper ;  but  that  Colonel  Learned  should  signify  in  a  letter, 
his  having  laid  it  before  the  commander-in-chief,  and  the  rea- 
sons assigned  for  not  answering  it. 

With  this  uncompromising  letter,  the  flag  returned  to  Boston. 
The  Americans  suspended  their  fire,  but  continued  to  fortify 
their  positions.  On  the  night  of  the  9th,  a  detachment  was 
sent  to  plant  a  battery  on  Nook's  Hill,  an  eminence  at  Dorchester, 
which  lies  nearest  to  Boston  Neck.  A  fire  kindled  behind  the 
hill  revealed  the  project.  It  provoked  a  cannonade  from  the 
British,  which  was  returned  with  interest  from  Cobble  Hill, 
Lechmere  Point,  Cambridge,  and  Roxbury.  The  roar  of  caii- 
nonry  and  bursting  of  bombshells  prevailed  from  half  after 
eight  at  night,  until  six  in  the  morning.  It  was  another  night 
of  terror  to  the  people  of  Boston  ;  but  the  Americans  had  to 
desist,  for  the  present,  from  the  attempt  to  fortify  Nook's  Hill. 
Among  the  accidents  of  the  bombardment,  was  the  bursting  of 
Putnam's  vaunted  mortar,  "  The  Congress." 

Daily  preparations  were  now  made  by  the  enemy  for  depart- 
ure. By  proclamation,  the  inhabitants  were  ordered  to  deliver 
up  all  linen  and  woolen  goods,  and  all  other  goods,  that  in  pos- 
session of  the  rebels,  would  aid  them  in  carrying  on  the  war. 
Crean  Bush,  a  New  York  tory,  was  authorized  to  take  posses- 
sion of  such  goods,  and  put  them  on  board  of  two  of  the  trans- 
ports. Under  cover  of  his  commission,  he  and  his  myrmidons 
broke  open  stores,  and  stripped  them  of  their  contents.     Ma- 


420  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

rauding  gangs  from  the  fleet  and  army  followed  their  example, 
and  extended  their  depredations  to  private  houses.  On  the 
14th,  Howe,  in  a  general  order,  declared  that  the  first  soldier 
caught  plundering  should  he  hanged  on  the  spot.  Still  on  the 
16th  houses  were  broken  open,  goods  destroyed,  and  furniture 
defaced  by  the  troops.  Some  of  the  furniture,  it  is  true,  be- 
longed to  the  officers,  and  was  destroyed  because  they  could 
neither  sell  it  nor  carry  it  away. 

The  letter  of  a  British  officer  gives  a  lively  picture  of  the 
hurried  preparations  for  retreat.  "  Our  not  being  burdened 
with  provisions,  permitted  us  to  save  some  stores  and  ammuni- 
tion, the  light  field-pieces,  and  such  things  as  were  most  con- 
venient of  carriage.  The  rest,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  we  were 
obliged  to  leave  behind ;  such  of  the  guns  as  by  dismounting 
we  could  throw  into  the  sea  was  so  done.  The  carriages  were 
disabled,  and  every  precaution  taken  that  our  circumstances 
would  permit ;  for  our  retreat  was  by  agreement.  The  people 
of  the  town  who  were  friends  to  government,  took  care  of 
nothing  but  their  merchandise,  and  found  means  to  employ 
the  men  belonging  to  the  transports  in  embarking  their  goods, 
so  that  several  of  the  vessels  were  entirely  filled  with  -private 
property,  instead  of  the  king's  stores.  By  some  unavoidable 
accident,  the  medicines,  surgeons'  chests,  instruments,  and 
necessaries,  were  left  in  the  hospital.  The  confusion  unavoid- 
able to  such  a  disaster,  will  make  you  conceive  how  much  must 
be  forgot,  where  every  man  had  a  private,  concern.  The  neces- 
sary care  and  distress  of  the  women,  children,  sick,  and 
wounded,  required  every  assistance  tliat  could  be  given.  It 
was  not  like  breaking  up  a  camp,  where  ever}'-  man  knows  his 
duty ;  it  was  like  departing  your  country  with  your  wives,  your 
servants,  your  household  furniture,  and  all  your  encumbrances. 
The  officers,  who  felt  the  disgrace  of  their  retreat,  did  their 
utmost  to  keep  up  appearances.  The  men,  who  thought  they 
were  changing  for  the  better,  strove  to  take  advantage  of  the 
present  times,  and  were  kept  from  plunder  and  drink  with 
difficulty."* 

For  some  days  the  embarkation  of  the  troops  was  delayed  by 
adverse  winds.  Washington,  who  was  imperfectly  informed  of 
affairs  in  Boston,  feared  that  the  movements  there  might  be  a 
feint.  Determined  to  bring  things  to  a  crisis,  he  detaclied  a 
force  to  Nook's  Hill  on  Saturday,  the  sixteenth,  which  threw 
up  a  breastwork  in  the  night  regardless  of  the  cannonading  of 
the  enemy.     This  commanded  Boston  Neck  and  the  south  part 

*  Remembrancer,  vol,  iii,  p.  108* 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  421 

of  the  town,  and  a  deserter  brought  a  false  report  to  the  British 
that  a  general  assault  was  intended.  ♦ 

The  embarkation,  so  long  delayed,  began  with  hurry  and 
confusion  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  harbor  of 
Boston  soon  presented  a  striking  and  tumultuous  scene. 
There  were  seventy-eight  ships,  and  transports  casting  loose 
for  sea,  and  eleven  or  twelve  thousand  men,  soldiers,  sailors, 
and  refugees,  hurrying  to  embark ;  many,  especially  of  the  latter, 
with  their  families  and  personal  effects.  The  refugees,  in  fact, 
labored  under  greater  disadvantages  than  the  king's  troops,  be- 
ing obliged  to  man  their  own  vessels,  as  sufficient  seamen 
could  not  be  spared  from  the  king's  transports.  Speaking  of 
those  ^^  who  had  taken  upon  themselves  the  style  and  title  of 
government  men"  in  Boston,  and  acted  an  unfriendly  part  in 
this  great  contest,  Washington  observes :  "  By  all  accounts 
there  never  existed  a  more  miserable  set  of  beings  than  these 
wretched  creatures  now  are.  Taught  to  believe  that  the  power 
of  Great  Britain  was  superior  to  all  opposition,  and  that  for- 
eign aid,  if  not,  was  at  hand,  they  were  even  higher  and  more 
insulting  in  their  opposition  than  the  E-egulars.  When  the 
order  issued,  therefore,  for  embarking  the  troops  in  Boston,  no 
electric  shock — no  sudden  clap  of  thunder, — in  a  word  the  last 
trump  could  not  have  struck  tliem  with  greater  consternation. 
They  were  at  their  wits'  end,  and  conscious  of  their  black  in- 
gratitude, chose  to  commit  themselves,  in  the  manner  I  have 
above  described,  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves  at  a  tempestuous 
season,  rather  than  meet  their  offended  countrymen.''  * 

While  this  tumultuous  embarkation  was  going  on,  the 
Americans  looked  on  in  silence  from  their  batteries  on  Dor- 
chester Heights,  without  firing  a  shot.  "It  was  lucky  for  the 
inhabitants  now  left  in  Boston,  that  they  did  not,"  writes  a 
British  officer ;  "  for  I  am  informed  everything  was  prepared 
to  set  the  town  in  a  blaze,  had  they  fired  one  cannon."  f 

At  an  early  hour  of  the  morning,  the  troops  stationed  at 
Cambridge  and  E-oxbury  had  paraded,  and  several  regiments 
under  Putnam  had  embarked  in  boats,  and  dropped  down 
Charles  Kiver,  to  Sewall's  Point,  to  watch  the  movements  of 
the  enemy  by  land  and  water.  About  nine  o'clock  a  large  body 
of  troops  was  seen  marching  down  Bunker's  Hill,  while  boats 
full  of  soldiers  were  putting  off  for  the  shipping.  Two  scouts 
were  sent  from  the  camp  to  reconnoiter.  The  works  appeared 
still  to  be  occupied,  for  sentries  were  posted  about  them  with 
shouldered  muskets.     Observing  them  to  be  motionless,   the 

*  Letter  to  John  A.  Washington,  Am.  Archives^  4th.  Series,  v,  560* 
t  Frothingham,  Sle[/e  of  Boston,  p.  310, 


422  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

scouts  made  nearer  scrutiny,  and  discovered  them  to  be  mere 
effigies,  set  up  to  delay  the  advance  of  the  Americans.  Push- 
ing on,  they  found  the  works  deserted,  and  gave  signal  of  the 
fact ;  whereupon  a  detachment  was  sent  from  the  camp  to  take 
possession. 

Part  of  Putnam's  troops  were  now  sent  back  to  Cambridge  ; 
a  part  were  ordered  forward  to  occupy  Boston.  General  Ward, 
too,  with  five  hundred  men,  made  his  way  from  Eoxbury, 
across  the  Neck,  about  which  the  enemy  had  scattered  caltroops 
or  crow's  feet,*  to  impede  invasion.  The  gates  were  unbarred 
and  thrown  open,  and  the  Americans  entered  in  triumph,  with 
drums  beating  and  colors  flying. 

By  ten  o'clock  the  enemy  were  all  embarked  and  under  way  ; 
Putnam  had  taken  command  of  the  city,  and  occupied  the  im- 
portant points,  and  the  flag  of  thirteen  stripes,  the  standard  of 
the  Union,  floated  above  all  the  forts. 

On  the  following  day,  Washington  himself  entered  the  town, 
where  he  was  joyfully  welcomed.  He  beheld  around  him  sad 
traces  of  the  devastation  caused  by  the  bombardment,  though 
not  to  the  extent  that  he  had  apprehended.  There  were  evi- 
dences, also,  of  the  haste  with  which  the  British  had  retreated — 
five  pieces  of  ordnance  with  their  trunnions  knocked  off ;  others 
hastily  spiked  ;  others  thrown  off  the  wharf.  "  General  Howe's 
retreat,"  writes  Washington,  "was  precipitate  beyond  anything 
I  could  have  conceived.  The  destruction  of  the  stores  at  Dun- 
bar's camp,  after  Braddock's  defeat,  was  but  a  faint  image  of 
what  may  be  seen  at  Boston ;  artillery  carts  cut  to  pieces  in 
one  place,  gun  carriages  in  another ;  shells  broke  here,  shots 
buried  there,  and  everything  carrying  with  it  the  face  of  dis- 
order and  confusion,  as  also  of  distress."! 

To  add  to  the  mortification  of  General  Howe,  he  received, 
we  are  told,  while  sailing  out  of  the  harbor,  despatches  from 
the  ministry,  approving  the  resolution  he  had  so  strenuously 
expressed  of  maintaining  his  post  until  he  should  receive  rein- 
forcements. 

As  the  small-pox  prevailed  in  some  parts  of  the  town,  pre- 
cautions were  taken  by  Washington  for  its  purification ;  and 
the  main  body  of  the  army  did  not  march  in  until  the  20th. 
"The  joy  manifested  in  the  countenances  of  the  inhabitants," 
says  an  observer,  "was  overcast  by  the  melancholy  gloom 
caused  by  ten  tedious  months  of  siege  ;  "  but  when,  on  the  22d, 
the  people   from   the   country  crowded  into  the  town,  "  it  was 

*Iron  balls,  with  four  sharp  points,  to  wound  the  feet  of  men  or 
horses, 
t  Lee's  MemoirSf  p.  162, 


LIFE  OF  WASBinOTON.  423 

truly  interesting/'  writes  the  same  observer,  "  to  witness  the 
tender  interviews  and  fond  embraces  of  those  who  had  been 
long  separated  under  circumstances  so  peculiarly  distressing."* 

Notwithstanding  the  haste  with  which  the  British  army  was 
embarked,  the  fleet  lingered  for  some  days  in  Nantasket  E-oad. 
Apprehensive  that  the  enemy,  now  that  their  forces  were  col- 
lected in  one  body,  might  attempt  by  some  blow  to  retrieve 
their  late  disgrace,  Washington  hastily  threw  up  works  on 
Fort  Hill,  which  commanded  the  harbor,  and  demolished  those 
which  protected  the  town  from  the  neighboring  country.  The 
fleet  at  length  disappeared  entirely  from  the  coast,  and  the  de- 
liverance of  Boston  was  assured. 

The  eminent  services  of  Washington  throughout  this  arduous 
siege,  his  admirable  management,  by  which  "  in  the  course  of 
a  few  months,  an  undisciplined  hand  of  husbandmen  became 
soldiers,  and  were  enabled  to  invest,  for  nearly  a  year,  and 
finally  to  expel  a  brave  army  of  veterans  commanded  by  the 
most  experienced  generals,"  drew  forth  the  enthusiastic  ap- 
plause of  the  nation.  No  higher  illustration  of  this  great 
achievement  need  be  given  than  the  summary  of  it  contained 
in  the  speech  of  a  British  statesman,  the  Duke  of  .Manchester, 
in  the  House  of  Lords.  "  The  army  of  Britain,"  said  he, 
'^  equipped  with  every  possible  essential  of  war  ;  a  chosen  army, 
with  chosen  officers,  backed  by  the  power  of  a  mighty  fleet, 
sent  to  correct  revolted  subjects;  sent  to  chastise  a  resisting 
city  ;  sent  to  assert  Britain's  authority, — has,  for  many  tedious 
months,  been  imprisoned  within  that  town  by  the  provincial 
army  ;  who,  their  watchful  guards,  permitted  them  no  inlet  to 
the  country ;  who  braved  all  their  efforts,  and  defied  all  their 
skill  and  ability  in  war  could  ever  attempt.  One  way,  indeed, 
of  escaj)e  was  left ;  the  fleet  is  yet  respected ;  to  the  fleet  the 
army  has  recourse ;  and  British  generals,  whose  name  never 
met  with  a  blot  of  dishonor,  are  forced  to  quit  that  town  which 
was  the  first  object  of  the  war,  the  immediate  cause  of  hostili- 
ties, the  place  of  arms,  which  has  cost  this  nation  more  than  a 
million  to  defend." 

We  close  this  eventful  chapter  of  Washington's  history,  with 
the  honor  decreed  to  him  by  the  highest  authority  of  his  country. 
On  motion  of  John  Adams,  who  had  first  moved  his  nomination 
as  commander-in-chief,  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  to  him  was 
passed  in  Congress  ;  and  it  was  ordered  that  a  gold  medal  be 
struck,  commemorating  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  bearing  the 
effigy  of  Washington  as  its  deliverer. 

Thatcher's  Mil.  Journal,  p.  50. 


424  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

DESTINATION  OF  THE  FLEET. — COMMISSION  OF  THE  TWO  HOWES. 

CHARACTER     OF     LORD     HOWE. THE      COLONIES     DIVIDED 

INTO   DEPARTMENTS. LEE    ASSIGNED  TO    THE  SOUTHERN  DE- 
PARTMENT.  GENERAL    THOMAS     TO     CANADA. — CHARACTER 

OF  LEE,  BY  WASHINGTON. LETTERS  OF  LEE  FROM  THE  SOUTH. 

A  DOG  IN  A  DANCING  SCHOOL. COMMITTEE  OF  SAFETY  IN 

VIRGINIA. lee's    grenadiers. PUTNAM    IN  COMMAND  AT 

NEW     YORK. STATE      OF      AFFAIRS      THERE. ARRIVAL     OF 

WASHINGTON. NEW  ARRANGEMENTS. PERPLEXITIES   WITH 

RESPECT       TO       CANADA. ENGLAND       SUBSIDIZES       HESSIAN 

TROOPS. 

The  British  fleet  bearing  the  army  from  Boston,  had  disap- 
peared from  the  coast.  "  Whither  they  are  bound,  and  where 
they  next  will  pitch  their  tents,"  writes  Washington,  "  I  know 
not."  He  conjectured  their  destination  to  be  New  York,  and 
made  his  arrangements  accordingly ;  but  he  was  mistaken. 
General  Howe  had  steered  for  Halifax,  there  to  await  the  ar- 
rival of  strong  reinforcements  from  England,  and  the  fleet  of 
his  brother.  Admiral  Lord  Howe ;  who  was  to  be  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  naval  forces  on  the  North  American  station. 

It  was  thought  these  brothers  would  cooperate  admirably  in 
the  exercise  of  their  relative  functions  on  land  and  water.  Yet 
they  were  widely  different  in  their  habits  and  dispositions. 
Sir  William,  easy,  indolent,  and  self-indulgent,  "hated  busi- 
ness," we  are  told,  "  and  never  did  any.  Lord  Howe  loved  it, 
dwelt  upon  it,  never  could  leave  it."  Beside  his  nautical  com- 
mands, he  had  been  treasurer  of  the  navy,  member  of  the 
board  of  admiralty,  and  had  held  a  seat  in  Parliament ;  where, 
according  to  Walpole,  he  was  "silent  as  a  rock,"  excepting 
when  naval  affairs  were  under  discussion ;  when  he  spoke 
briefly  and  to  the  point.  "  My  Lord  Howe,"  said  George  II., 
"  your  life  has  been  a  continued  series  of  services  to  your  coun- 
try." He  was  now  about  fiity-one  years  of  age,  tall  and  well 
proportioned  like  his  brother;  but  wanting  his  ease  of  deport- 
ment. His  complexion  was  dark,  his  countenance  grave  and 
strongly  marked,  and  he  had  a  shy  reserve,  occasionally  mis- 
taken for  haughtiness.     As   a  naval   officer,  he  was   esteemed 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  425 

resolute  and  enterprising,  yet  cool  and  firm.  In  his  younger 
days  he  had  contracted  a  friendship  for  Wolfe ;  "  it  was  like 
the  union  of  cannon  and  gunpowder,"  said  Walpole.  Howe 
strong  in  mind,  solid  in  judgment,  firm  of  purpose,  was  said  to 
he  the  cannon ;  Wolfe,  quick  in  conception,  prompt  in  execu- 
tion, impetuous  in  action,  the  gunpowder. "^  The  hravest  man, 
we  are  told,  could  not  wish  for  a  more  able,  or  more  gallant 
commander  than  Howe,  and  the  sailors  used  to  say  of  him, 
'^  Give  us  Black  Dick,  and  we  fear  nothing." 

Such  is  his  lordship's  portrait  as  sketched  by  English  pencils  ; 
we  shall  see  hereafter  how  far  his  conduct  conforms  to  it.  At 
present  we  must  consider  the  state  of  the  American  army,  in 
the  appointments  and  commands  of  which  various  changes  had 
recently  taken  place. 

It  was  presumed  the  enemy  in  the  ensuing  campaign  would 
direct  their  operations  against  the  Middle  and  Southern  colonies. 
Congress  divided  those  colonies  into  two  departments  ;  one  com- 
prehending ISTew  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
and  Maryland,  was  to  be  under  the  command  of  a  major-general 
and  two  brigadier-generals ;  the  other,  comprising  Virginia, 
the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  to  be  under  the  command  of  a 
major-general,  and  four  brigadiers. 

In  this  new  arrangement,  the  orders  destining  General  Lee 
to  Canada  were  superseded,  and  he  was  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Southern  department,  where  he  was  to  keep  watch 
upon  the  movements  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  He  was  somewhat 
dissatisfied  with  the  change  in  his  destination.  '^  As  I  am  the 
only  general  ofiicer  on  the  continent,"  writes  he  to  Washington 
"  who  can  speak  or  think  in  French,  I  confess  I  think  it  would 
have  been  more  prudent  to  have  sent  me  to  Canada ;  but  I 
shall  obey  with  alacrity,  and  I  hope  with  success." 

In  reply,  Washington  observes,  "  I  was  just  about  to  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  appointment  to  the  command  in  Canada, 
when  I  received  the  account  that  your  destination  was  altered. 
As  a  Virginian,  I  must  rejoice  at  the  change,  but  as  an 
American,  I  think  j^ou  would  have  done  more  essential  service 
to  the  common  cause  in  Canada.  For,  beside  the  advantage  of 
speaking  and  thinking  in  French,  an  officer  who  is  acquainted 
with  their  manners  and  customs,  and  has  travelled  in  their 
country,  must  certainly  take  the  strongest  hold  of  their  affec- 
tion and  confidence." 

The  command  in  Canada  was  given  to  General  Thomas,  who 
had  distinguished  himself  at  Koxbury,  and  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  major-general.  It  would  have  been  given  to 
*  Barrows,  Life  of  Earl  Howe,  p.  400. 


426  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Schuyler,  but  for  tlie  infirm  state  of  his  health  ;  still  Congress 
expressed  a  reliance  on  his  efforts  to  comj^lete  the  work  "  so 
conspicuously  begun  and  well  conducted  "  under  his  orders 
in  the  last  campaign  ;  and,  as  not  merely  the  success  but  the 
very  existence  of  the  army  in  Canada  would  depend  on  supplies, 
sent  from  these  colonies  across  the  lakes,  he  was  required, 
until  further  orders,  to  fix  his  head-quarters  at  Albany,  where, 
without  being  exposed  to  the  fatigue  of  the  camp  until  his 
health  was  perfectly  restored,  he  would  be  in  a  situation  to 
forward  supplies  ;  to  superintend  the  operations  necessary  for 
the  defense  of  New  York  and  the  Hudson  E-iver,  and  the  af- 
fairs of  the  whole  middle  department. 

Lee  set  out  for  the  South  on  the  7th  of  March,  carrying  with 
him  his  bold  spirit,  his  shrewd  sagacity,  and  his  whimsical 
and  splenetic  humors.  The  following  admirably  impartial 
sketch  is  given  of  him  by  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother 
Augustine  :  "  He  is  the  first  in  military  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience we  have  in  the  whole  army.  He  is  zealously  attached 
to  the  cause ;  honest  and  well  meaning,  but  rather  fickle  and 
violent,  I  fear,  in  his  temper.  However,  as  he  possesses  an 
uncommon  share  of  good  sense  and  spirit,  I  congratulate  my 
countrymen  on  his  appointment  to  that  department."  * 

We  give  by  anticipation  a  few  passages  from  Lee's  letters,  il- 
lustrative of  his  character  and  career.  The  news  of  the  evacu- 
ation of  Boston  reached  him  in  Virginia,  In  a  letter  to  Wash- 
ington, dated  Williamsburg,  April  5,  he  expresses  himself  on 
the  subject  with  generous  warmth.  "  My  dear  general,"  writes 
he,  "  I  most  sincerely  congratulate  you ;  I  congratulate  the 
public,  on  the  great  and  glorious  event,  your  possession  of 
Boston.  It  will  be  a  most  bright  page  in  the  annals  of 
America,  and  a  most  abominable  black  one  in  those  of 
the  beldam  Britain.  Go  on,  my  dear  general ;  crown  yourself 
with  glory,  and  establish  the  liberties  and  lustre  of  your  coun- 
try on  a  foundation  more  permanent  than  the  capitol  rock." 

Then  reverting  to  himself,  his  subacid  humors  work  up,  and 
he  shows  that  he  had  been  as  much  annoyed  in  Williamsburg, 
by  the  interference  of  committees,  as  he  had  been  in  New  York. 
"My  situation,"  writes  he,  "is  just  as  I  expected.  I  am  afraid 
I  shall  make  a  shabby  figure,  without  any  real  demerits  of  my 
own.  I  am  like  a  dog  in  a  dancing-school ;  I  know  not  where 
to  turn  myself,  where  to  fix  myself.  The  circumstances  of  the 
country,  intersected  with  navigable  rivers ;  the  uncertainty  of 
the  enemy's  designs  and  motions,  who  can  fly  in  an  instant  to 
any  spot  they  choose,  with  their  canvas  wings,  throw  me^,  ox 
*  Force's  Am.  Archives,  4th  Series,  v.  562. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  427 

would  throw  Julius  Caesar  into  this  inevitable  dilemma;  Imay 
possibly  be  in  the  North,  when,  as  E-ichard  says,  I  should  serve 
my  sovereign  in  the  West.  I  can  only  act  from  surmise,  and 
have  a  very  good  chance  of  sitrmising  wrong.  I  am  soriy  to 
grate  your  ears  with  a  truth,  but  must,  at  all  events,  assure 
you,  that  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York  are  angels  of 
decision,  when  compared  with  your  countrymen,  the  committee 
of  safety  assembled  at  Williamsburg.  Page,  Lee,  Mercer,  and 
Payne,  are,  indeed,  exceptions ;  but  from  Pendleton,  Bland, 
the  Treasurer,  and  Co. — Libera  nos  domine  !  " 

Lee's  letters  from  Virginia,  written  at  a  later  date,  were  in  a 
better  humor.  "  There  is  a  noble  spirit  in  this  province  per- 
vading all  orders  of  men ;  if  the  same  becomes  universal,  we 
shall  be  saved.  I  am,  fortunately  for  my  own  happiness,  and 
I  think,  for  the  well-being  of  the  community,  on  the  best  terms 
with  the  senatorial  part,  as  well  as  the  people  at  large.  I  shall 
endeavor  to  preserve  their  confidence  and  good  opinion."  '* 

And  in  a  letter  to  Washington  : — 

"  I  have  formed  two  companies  of  grenadiers  to  each  regi- 
ment, and  with  spears  thirteen  feet  long.  Their  rifles  (for  they 
are  all  riflemen)  sling  ovier  their  shoulders,  their  appearance  is 
formidable,  and  the  men  are  conciliated  to  the  weapon.  .  . 
.  .  I  am  likewise  furnishing  myself  with  four-ounced  rifled 
amusettes,  which  will  carry  an  infernal  distance  ;  the  two- 
ounced  hit  a  half  sheet  of  paper,  at  five  hundred  yards  dis- 
tance." 

On  Lee's  departure  for  the  South,  Brigadier-general  Lord 
Stirling  had  remained  in  temporary  command  at  New  York. 
Washington,  however,  presuming  that  the  British  fleet  had 
steered  for  that  port,  with  the  force  which  had  evacuated 
Boston,  hastened  detachments  thither  under  Generals  Heath 
and  Sullivan,  and  wrote  for  three  thousand  additional  men  to 
be  furnished  by  Connecticut.  The  command  of  the  whole  he 
gave  to  General  Putnam,  who  was  ordered  to  fortify  the  city  and 
the  passes  of  the  Hudson,  according  to  the  plans  of  General 
Lee.  In  the  meantime,  Washington  delayed  to  come  on  him- 
self, until  he  should  have  pushed  forward  the  main  body  of  his 
army  by  divisions.  ( 

Lee's  anticipations  that  laxity  and  confusion  would  prevail 
after  his  departure,  were  not  realized.  The  veteran  Putnam, 
on  taking  command,  put  the  city  under  rigorous  military  rule. 
The  soldiers  were  to  retire  to  their  barracks  and  quarters  at  the 
beating  of  the  tattoo,  and  remain  there  until  the  reveille  in  the 
morning.  The  inhabitants  were  subjected  to  the  same  rule. 
*  Force's  Am,  Archives,  4th  Series,  v.  792. 


42S  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Kone  would  be  permitted  to  pass  a  sentry,  without  the  counter- 
sign, wliich  would  be  furnished  to  them  on  applying  to  any  of 
the  brigade  majors.  All  communication  between  the  "minis- 
terial fleet,"  and  shore  was  stopped;  the  ships  were  no  longer  to 
be  furnished  with  provisions.  Any  person  taken  in  the  act  of 
holding  communication  with  them  would  be  considered  an 
enemy,  and  treated  accordingly. 

We  have  a  lively  picture  of  the  state  of  the  city,  in  letters 
written  at  the  time,  and  already  cited.  "  When  j'-ou  are  in- 
formed that  New  York  is  deserted  by  its  old  inhabitants,  and 
filled  with  soldiers  from  New  England,  Philadelphia,  Jersey, 
etc.,  3^ou  will  naturally  conclude  the  environs  of  it  are  not  very 
safe  from  so  undisciplined  a  multitude  as  our  provincials  are 
represented  to  be  ;  but  I  do  believe  there  are  very  few  instances 
of  so  great  a  number  of  men  together,  with  so  little  mischief 
done  by  them.  They  have  all  the  simplicity  of  ploughmen  in 
their  manners,  and  seem  quite  strangers  to  the  vices  of  older 
soldiers  :  they  have  been  employed  in  creating  fortifications  in 

every  part  of  the  town Governor  Tryon  loses  his 

credit  with  the  people  here  prodigiously  ;  he  has  lately  issued 
a  proclamation,  desiring  the  deluded  people  of  this  colony  to 
return  to  their  obedience,  promising  a  speedy  support  to  the 
friends  of  government,  declaring  a  door  of  mercy  open  to  the 
penitent,  and  a  rod  for  the  disobedient,  etc.  The  friends  of 
government  were  provoked  at  being  so  distinguished,  and  the 
friends  to  liberty  hung  him  in  efiigy,  and  printed  a  dying  speech 
for  him.  A  letter,  too,  was  intercepted  from  him,  hastening 
Lord  Howe  to  New  York,  as  the  rebels  were  fortifying.     These 

have  entirely  lost  him  the  good-will  of  the  people 

You  cannot  think  how  sorry  I  am  the  governor  has  so  lost  him- 
self, a  man  once  so  much  beloved.  0  Lucifer,  once  the  son  of 
morn,  how  fallen  !  General  Washington  is  expected  hourly  ; 
General  Putnam  is  here,  with  several  other  generals,  and  some 

of  their  ladies The  variety  of  reports  keeps  one's 

mind  always  in  agitation.  Clinton  and  Howe  have  set  the 
continent  a  racing  from  Boston  to  Carolina.  Clinton  came  into 
our  harbor  :  away  flew  the  women,  children,  goods,  and  chattels, 
and  in  came  the  soldiers  flocking  from  every  part.  No  sooner 
was  it  known  that  he  was  not  going  to  land  here,  than  expresses 
were  sent  to  Virginia  and  Carolina,  to  put  them  on  their  guard  ; 
his  next  expedition  was  to  Virginia  ;  there  they  were  ready  to 
receive  him  ;  from  thence,  without  attempting  to  land,  he  sailed 
to  Carolina.  Now  General  Howe  is  leading  us  another 
dance."  * 

*  Bemembrancer,  vol.  ill.  p.  85. 


LiFi:  OF  WASHmGTOJSt.  429 

Washington  came  on  by  the  way  of  Providence,  Norwich 
and  New  London,  expediting  the  embarkation  of  troops  from 
these  posts,  and  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  13th  of  April. 
Many  of  the  works  which  Lee  had  commenced  were  by  this 
time  finished ;  others  were  in  progress.  It  was  apprehended 
the  principle  operations  of  the  enemy  would  be  on  Long  Island, 
the  high  grounds  of  which,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Brooklyn, 
commanded  the  city.  Washington  saw  that  an  able  and  efficient 
officer  was  needed  at  that  place.  Greene  was  accordingly  sta- 
tioned there,  with  a  division  of  the  army.  He  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  complete  the  fortifications  of  that  important  post,  and 
to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  topography,  and  the  defen- 
sive points  of  the  surrounding  country. 

The  aggregate  force  distributed  at  several  extensive  posts  in 
New  York  and  its  environs,  and  on  Long  Island,  Staten  Island, 
and  elsewhere,  amounted  to  little  more  than  ten  thousand  men ; 
some  of  those  were  on  the  sick  list,  others  absent  on  command, 
or  on  furlough  ;  there  were  but  about  eight  thousand  available 
and  fit  for  duty.  These,  too,  were  without  pay  ;  those  recently 
enlisted,  without  arms,  and  no  one  could  say  where  arms  were 
to  be  procured. 

Washington  saw  the  inadequacy  of  the  force  to  the  purposes 
required,  and  was  full  of  solicitude  about  the  security  of  a  place, 
the  central  point  of  the  Confederacy,  and  the  grand  deposit  of 
ordnance  and  military  stores.  He  was  aware,  too,  of  the  disaf- 
fection to  the  cause  among  many  of  the  inhabitants,  and  appre- 
hensive of  treachery.  The  process  of  fortifying  the  place  had 
induced  the  ships  of  war  to  fall  down  into  the  outer  bay,  within 
the  Hook,  upwards  of  twenty  miles  from  the  city ;  but  Governor 
Tryon  was  still  on  board  of  one  of  them,  keeping  up  an  active 
correspondence  with  the  tories  on  Staten  and  Long  Islands,  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  neighborhood. 

Washington  took  an  early  occasion  to  address  an  urgent  letter 
to  the  committee  of  safety,  pointing  out  the  dangerous  and  even 
treasonable  nature  of  this  correspondence.  He  had  more  weight 
and  influence  with  that  body  than  had  been  possessed  by  Gen- 
eral Lee,  and  procured  the  passage  of  a  resolution  prohibiting, 
under  severe  penalties,  all  intercourse  with  the  king's  ships. 

Head-quarters,  at  this  time,  was  a  scene  of  incessant  toil  on 
the  part  of  the  commander-in-chief,  his  secretaries  and  aides-de 
camp.  "  I  give  in  to  no  kind  of  amusements  myself,"  writes 
he,  "  and  consequently  those  about  me  can  have  none,  but  are 
confined  from  morning  until  evening,  hearing  and  answering 
applications  and  letters."  The  presence  of  Mrs.  Washington 
was  a  solace  in  the  midst  of  these  stern  military  cares^  and  dif- 


430  LIFE  OF  WASBINGTON. 

fused  a  feminine  grace  and  decorum,  and  a  cheerful  spirit  over 
the  domestic  arrangements  of  head-quarters,  where  everything 
was  conducted  with  simplicity  and  dignity.  The  wives  of  some 
of  the  other  generals  and  officers  rallied  around  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton, but  social  intercourse  was  generally  at  an  end.  "  We  all 
live  here,"  writes  a  lady  of  New  York,  "like  nuns  shut  up  in  a 
nunnery.  No  society  with  the  town,  for  there  are  none  there 
to  visit  J  neither  can  we  go  in  or  out  after  a  certain  hour  with- 
out the  countersign." 

In  addition  to  his  cares  about  the  security  of  New  York, 
Washington  had  to  provide  for  the  perilous  exigencies  of  the 
army  in  Canada.  Since  his  arrival  in  the  city,  four  regiments 
of  troops,  a  company  of  riflemen,  and  another  of  artificers  had 
been  detached  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-general  Thomp- 
son, and  a  further  corps  of  six  regiments  under  Brigader-general 
Sullivan,  with  orders  to  join  General  Thomas  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. 

Still  Congress  inquired  of  him,  whether  further  reinforce- 
ments to  the  army  in  Canada  would  not  be  necessary,  and 
whether  they  could  be  spared  from  the  army  in  New  York.  His 
reply  shows  the  peculiar  perplexities  of  his  situation,  and  the 
tormenting  uncertainty  in  which  he  was  kept,  as  to  where  the 
next  storm  of  war  would  break.  "  With  respect  to  sending  more 
troops  to  that  country,  I  am  really  at  a  loss  what  to  advise,  as 
it  is  impossible,  at  present,  to  know  the  designs  of  the  enemy. 
Should  they  send  the  whole  force  under  General  Howe  up  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  to  relieve  Quebec  and  recover  Canada,  the 
troops  gone  and  now  going,  will  be  insufficient  to  stop  their 
progress ;  and,  should  they  think  proper  to  send  that,  or  an 
equal  force,  this  way  from  Great  Britain,  for  the  purpose  of 
possessing  this  city  and  securing  the  navigation  of  Hudson's 
River,  the  troops  left  here  will  not  be  sufficient  to  oppose  them ; 
and  yet,  for  anything  we  know,  I  think  it  not  improbable  they  may 
attempt  both ;  both  being  of  the  greatest  importance  to  them, 
if  they  have  men.  I  could  wish  indeed,  that  the  army  in 
Canada  should  be  more  powerfully  reinforced  ;  at  the  same  time, 
I  am  conscious  that  the  trusting  of  this  important  post,  which 
is  now  become  the  grand  magazine  of  America,  to  the  handful 
of  men  remaining  here,  is  running  too  great  a  risk.  The  secur- 
ing of  this  post  and  Hudson's  River  is  to  us  also  of  so  great 
importance,  that  I  cannot,  at  present,  advise  the  sending  any 
more  troops  from  hence  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  general  officers 
now  here,  whom  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  consult,  think  it  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  increase  the  army  at  this  place  with  at 
least  ten  thousand  men  ;  especially  when  it  is  considered,  that 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  431 

from  this  place  only  the  army  in  Canada  must  draw  its  supplies 
of  ammunition,  provisions,  and  most  probably  of  men.'' 

Washington  at  that  time  was  not  aware  of  the  extraordinary 
expedients  England  had  recently  resorted  to,  against  the  next 
campaign.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Cas- 
sel,  and  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Cassel,  Count  of  Hanau,  had 
been  subsidized  to  furnish  troops  to  assist  in  the  subjugation  of 
her  colonies.  Four  thousand  three  hundred  Brunswick  troops, 
and  nearly  thirteen  thousand  Hessians,  had  entered  the  British 
service.  Beside  the  subsidy  exacted  by  the  German  princes, 
they  were  to  be  paid  seven  pounds  four  shillings  and  four  pence 
sterling  for  every  soldier  furnished  by  them,  and  as  much  more 
for  every  one  slain. 

Of  this  notable  arrangement,  Washington,  as  we  observed, 
was  not  yet  aware.  "  The  designs  of  the  enemy,"  writes  he, 
"  are  too  much  behind  the  curtain  for  me  to  form  any  accurate 
opinion  of  their  plan  of  operations  for  the  summer's  campaign. 
We  are  left  to  wander,  therefore,  in  the  field  of  conjecture."  "^ 

Within  a  few  days  afterwards,  he  had  vague  accounts  of 
"  Hessians  and  Hanoverian  troops  coming  over ; "  but  it  was 
not  until  the  17th  of  May,  when  he  received  letters  from  Gen- 
eral Schuyler,  inclosing  others  from  the  commanders  in  Canada, 
that  he  knew  in  what  direction  some  of  these  bolts  of  war  were 
launched ;  and  this  calls  for  some  further  particulars  of  the 
campaign  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence ;  which  we  shall 
give  to  the  reader  in  the  ensuing  chapter. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 

ARNOLD  BLOCKADES  QUEBEC. HIS  DIFFICULTIES. ARRIVAL  OF 

GENERAL  WOOSTER. OF    GENERAL    THOMAS. ABORTIVE  AT- 
TEMPT ON  QUEBEC. PREPARATIONS    FOR  RETREAT. SORTIE 

OF     CARLETON. RETREAT     OF     THE     AMERICANS. HALT    AT 

POINT    DESCHAMBAULT. ALARM    IN   THE    COLONIES    AT  THE 

RETREAT  OF  THE  ARMY. POPULAR  CLAMOR  AGAINST  SCHUY- 
LER.  SLANDERS  REFUTED. 

In  a  former  chapter,  we  left  Arnold  before  the  walls  of  Que- 
bec, wounded,  crippled,  almost  disabled,  yet  not  disheartened ; 
blockading  that  "  proud  town  "  with  a  force  inferior,  by  half,  in 
number  to  that  of  the  garrison.  For  his  gallant  services.  Con- 
gress promoted  him  in  January  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general, 
*  Letter  to  the  President  of  Congress,  5th  May. 


432  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Throughout  the  winter  he  kept  up  the  blockade  with  his 
shattered  army  ;  though  had  Carleton  ventured  upon  a  sortie, 
he  might  have  been  forced  to  decamp.  That  cautious  general, 
however,  remained  within  his  walls.  He  was  sure  of  reinforce- 
ments from  England  in  the  spring,  and,  in  the  meantime, 
trusted  to  the  elements  of  dissolution  at  work  in  the  besieging 
army. 

Arnold,  in  truth,  had  difficulties  of  all  kinds  to  contend  with. 
His  military  chest  was  exhausted  :  his  troops  were  in  want  of 
necessaries  ;  to  procure  supplies,  he  was  compelled  to  resort  to 
the  paper  money  issued  by  Congress,  which  was  uncurrent 
among  the  Canadians  ;  he  issued  a  proclamation  making  the  re- 
fusal to  take  it  in  payment  a  penal  offense.  This  only  produced 
irritation  and  disgust.  As  the  terms  of  their  enlistment  ex- 
pired, his  men  claimed  their  discharge  and  returned  home. 
Sickness  also  thinned  his  ranks  ;  so  that,  at  one  time,  his  force 
was  reduced  to  five  hundred  men,  and  for  two  months,  with  all 
his  recruitments,  of  raw  militia,  did  not  exceed  seven  hundred. 

The  failure  of  the  attack  on  Quebec  had  weakened  the  cause 
among  the  Canadians ;  the  peasantry  had  been  displeased  by 
the  conduct  of  the  American  troops ;  they  had  once  welcomed  them 
as  deliverers  ;  they  now  began  to  regard  them  as  intruders.  The 
seigneurs,  or  noblesse,  also,  feared  to  give  further  countenance 
to  an  invasion,  which,  if  defeated,  might  involve  them  in  ruin. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  discouragements,  Arnold  still  kept 
up  a  bold  face  ;  cut  off  supplies  occasionally,  and  harassed  the 
place  with  alarms.  Having  repaired  his  batteries,  he  opened  a 
fire  upon  the  town,  but  with  little  effect ;  the  best  part  of  the 
artillerists,  with  Lamb,  their  capable  commander,  were  prison- 
ers within  the  walls. 

On  the  1st  day  of  April,  General  Wooster  arrived  from  Mont- 
real, with  reinforcements,  and  took  the  command.  The  day 
after  his  arrival,  Arnold,  by  the  falling  of  his  horse,  again  re- 
ceived an  injury  on  the  leg  recently  wounded,  and  was  disabled 
for  upwards  of  a  week.  Considering  himself  slighted  by  Gen- 
eral Wooster,  who  did  not  consult  him  in  military  affairs,  he  ob- 
tained leave  of  absence  until  he  should  be  recovered  from  his 
lameness,  and  repaired  to  Montreal,  where  he  took  command. 

General  Thomas  arrived  at  the  camp  in  the  course  of  April, 
and  found  the  army  in  a  forlorn  condition,  scattered  at  different 
posts,  and  on  the  island  of  Orleans.  It  was  numerically  in- 
creased to  upwards  of  two  thousand  men,  but  several  hundred 
were  unfit  for  service.  The  small-pox  had  made  great  ravages. 
They  had  inoculated  each  other.  In  their  sick  and  debilitated 
gtate,  they  were  without  barracks,  andalniost  without  medicine. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  433 

A  portion,  whose  term  of  enlistment  had  expired,  refused  to-  do 
duty,  and  clamored  for  their  discharge. 

The  winter  was  oyer,  the  river  was  breaking  up,  reinforce- 
ments to  the  garrison  might  immediately  be  expected,  and  then 
the  case  would  be  desperate.  Observing  that  the  river  about 
Quebec  was  clear  of  ice,  General  Thomas  determined  on  a  bold 
effort.  It  was,  to  send  up  a  fire-ship  with  the  flood,  and,  while 
the  ships  in  the  harbor  were  in  flames,  and  the  town  in  confu- 
sion, to  scale  the  walls. 

Accordingly,  on  the  3rd  of  May,  the  troops  turned  out  with 
scaling  ladders ;  the  fire-ship  came  up  the  river  under  easy  sail 
and  arrived  near  the  shipping  before  it  was  discovered.  It  was 
fired  into.  The  crew  applied  a  slow  match  to  the  train  and 
pulled  off.  The  ship  was  soon  in  a  blaze,  but  the  flames  caught 
and  consumed  the  sails  ;  her  way  was  checked,  and  she  drifted 
off  harmlessly  with  the  ebbing  tide.  The  rest  of  the  plan  was 
of  course,  abandoned. 

Nothing  now  remained  but  to  retreat  before  the  enemy  should 
be  reinforced.  Preparations  were  made  in  all  haste,  to  embark 
the  sick  and  the  military  stores.  While  this  was  taking  place, 
five  ships  made  their  way  into  the  harbor,  on  the  6th  of  May, 
and  began  to  land  troops.  Thus  reinforced.  General  Carleton 
sallied  forth,  with  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  men.  We  quote 
his  own  letter  for  an  account  of  his  sortie.  "  As  soon  as  part 
of  the  29th  regiment  with  the  marines,  in  all  about  two  hundred 
were  landed,  they,  with  the  greatest  part  of  the  garrison,  by 
this  time  much  improved,  and  in  high  spirits,  marched  out  of 
the  ports  of  St.  Louis  and  St.  John's,  to  see  what  these  mighty 
boasters  were  about.  They  were  found  very  busy  in  their  prepara- 
tions for  a  retreat.  A  few  shots  being  exchanged,  the  line  marched 
forward,  and  the  place  was  soon  cleared  of  these  plunderers." 

By  his  own  account,  however,  these  "  mighty  boasters  "  had 
held  him  and  his  garrison  closely  invested  for  five  months  ;  had 
burnt  the  suburbs,  battered  the  walls,  thrown  red-hot  shot 
among  the  shipping,  made  repeated  and  daring  attempts  to  carry 
the  place  by  assault  and  stratagem,  and  rendered  it  necessary 
for  soldiers,  sailors,  marines,  and  even  judges  and  other  civil 
officers  to  mount  guard."*  One  officer  declares,  in  a  letter,  that 
for  eighty  successive  nights  he  slept  in  his  clothes,  to  be  ready 
in  case  of  alarm. 

All  this,  too  was  effected  by  a  handful  of  men,  exposed  in 
open  encampments  to  the  rigors  of  a  Canadian  winter.  If  in 
truth  they  were  boasters,  it  must  be  allowed  their  deeds  were 
equal  to  their  words. 

*  Carle tou  to  Lord  Germaiue,  May  14th. 


434  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  Americans  were  in  no  condition  to  withstand  Carleton's 
unlooked-for  attack.  They  had  no  intrenchments,  and  could 
not  muster  three  hundred  men  at  any  point.  A  precipitate  re- 
treat was  the  consequence,  in  which  haggage,  artillery;  every- 
thing was  abandoned.  Even  the  sick  were  left  behind,  many 
of  whom  crawled  away  from  the  camp  hospitals,  and  took  refuge 
in  the  woods,  or  among  the  Canadian  peasantry. 

General  Carleton  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  engage  in  a 
pursuit  with  his  newly-landed  troops.  He  treated  the  prisoners 
with  great  humanity,  and  caused  the  sick  to  be  sought  out  in 
their  hiding-places,  and  brought  to  the  general  hospitals,  with 
assurances,  that,  when  healed,  they  should  have  liberty  to  re- 
turn to  their  homes. 

General  Thomas  came  to  a  halt  at  Point  Deschambault,  about 
sixty  miles  above  Quebec,  and  called  a  council  of  war  to  consider 
what  was  to  be  done.  The  enemy's  ships  were  hastening  up 
the  St.  Lawrence  ;  some  were  already  but  two  or  three  leagues' 
distance.  The  camp  was  without  cannon ;  powder,  forwarded 
by  General  Schuyler,  had  fallen  into  the  enemy's  hands ;  there 
were  not  provisions  enough  to  subsist  the  army  for  more  than 
two  or  three  days ;  the  men-of-war,  too,  might  run  up  the  river, 
intercept  all  their  resources,  and  reduce  them  to  the  same  ex- 
tremity they  had  experienced  before  Quebec.  It  was  resolved, 
therefore,  to  ascend  the  river  still  further. 

General  Thomas,  however,  determined  to  send  forward  the 
invalids,  but  to  remain  at  Point  Deschambault  with  about  five 
hundred  men,  until  he  should  receive  orders  from  Montreal,  and 
learn  whether  such  supplies  could  be  forwarded  immediately 
as  would  enable  him  to  defend  his  position."* 

The  despatches  of  General  Thomas,  setting  forth  the  dis- 
astrous state  of  affairs,  had  a  disheartening  effect  on  Schuyler, 
who  feared  the  army  would  be  obliged  to  abandon  Canada. 
Washington,  on  the  contrary,  spoke  cheeringly  on  the  subject. 
"  We  must  not  despair.  A  manly  and  spirited  opposition  only 
can  insure  success,  and  prevent  the  enemy  from  improving  the 
advantage  they  have  obtained."  f 

He  regretted  that  the  troops  had  not  been  able  to  make  a 
stand  at  Point  Deschambault,  but  hoped  they  would  maintain 
a  post  as  far  down  the  river  as  possible.  The  lower  it  was,  the 
more  important  would  be  the  advantages  resulting  from  it,  as 
all  the  country  above  would  be  favorable,  and  furnish  assistance 
and  support  ;  while  all  below  would  necessarily  be  in  the  poweir 
of  the  enemy. 

*  General  Thomas  to  Washington,  May  8. 
t  Washington  to  Schuyler,  May  ITth. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  435 

The  tidings  of  the  reverses  in  Canada  and  the  retreat  of  the 
American  army,  had  spread  consternation  throughout  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants,  and  the  New  England  frontiers,  which 
would  now  be  laid  open  to  invasion.  Committees  of  towns  and 
districts  assembled  in  various  places,  to  consult  on  the  alarming 
state  of  affairs.  In  a  time  of  adversity,  it  relieves  the  public 
mind  to  have  some  individual  on  whom  to  charge  its  disasters. 
General  Schuyler,  at  present,  was  to  be  the  victim.  We  have 
already  noticed  the  prejudice  and  ill-will,  on  the  part  of  the 
New  England  people,  which  had  harassed  him  throughout  the 
campaign,  and  nearly  driven  him  from  the  service.  His 
enemies  now  stigmatized  him  as  the  cause  of  the  late  reverses. 
He  had  neglected,  they  said,  to  forward  reinforcements  and  sup- 
plies to  the  army  in  Canada.  His  magnanimify  in  suffering 
Sir  John  Johnson  to  go  at  large,  while  in  his  power,  was  again 
misconstrued  into  a  crime  :  he  had  thus  enabled  that  dangerous 
man  to  renew  his  hostilities.  Finally,  it  was  insinuated  that 
he  was  untrue  to  his  country,  if  not  positively  leagued  with  her 
enemies. 

These  imputations  were  not  generally  advanced ;  and  when 
advanced,  were  not  generally  countenanced;  but  a  committee 
of  King's  County  appears  to  have  given  them  credence,  address- 
ing a  letter  to  the  commander-in-chief  on  the  subject,  accom- 
panied by  documents. 

Washington,  to  whom  Schuyler's  heart  had  been  laid  open 
throughout  all  its  trials,  and  who  knew  its  rectitude,  received 
the  letter  and  documents  with  indignation  and  disgust,  and 
sent  copies  of  them  to  the  general.  "From  these,''  said  he, 
"  you  will  readily  discover  the  diabolical  and  insidious  arts  and 
schemes  carrying  on  by  the  tories  and  friends  of  government  to 
raise  distrust,  dissensions,  and  divisions  among  us.  Having 
the  utmost  confidence  in  your  integrity,  and  the  most  incontest- 
able proof  of  your  great  attachment  to  our  common  country 
and  its  interests,  I  could  not  but  look  upon  the  charge  against 
you  with  an  eye  of  disbelief,  and  sentiments  of  detestation  and 
abhorrence ;  nor  should  I  have  troubled  you  with  the  matter, . 
had  I  not  been  informed  that  copies  were  sent  to  different  com- 
mittees, and  to  Governor  Trumbull,  which  I  conceived  would 
get  abrdad,  and  that  you,  should  you  find  I  had  been  furnished 
with  them,  would  consider  my  suppressing  them  as  an  evidence 
of  my  belief,  or  at  best  of  my  doubts,  of  the  charges."  * 

We  will  go  forward,  and  give  the  sequel  of  this  matter. 
While  the  imputations  in  question  had  merely  floated  in  public 

*  Washington  to  Schuyler,  May  21. 


436  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

rumorj  Schuyler  had  taken  no  notice  of  them ;  "but  it  is  now/^ 
writes  he,  in  reply  to  Washington,  "  a  duty  which  I  owe  my- 
self and  my  country,  to  detect  the  scoundrels,  and  the  only 
means  of  doing  this  is  by  requesting  that  an  immediate  inquiry 
he  made  into  the  matter ;  when  I  trust  it  will  appear  that  it  was 
more  a  scheme  calculated  to  ruin  me,  than  to  disunite  and  cre- 
ate jealousies  in  the  friends  of  America.  Your  Excellency,  will, 
therefore,  please  to  order  a  court  of  inquiry  the  soonest  possi- 
ble ;  for  I  cannot  sit  easy  under  such  an  infamous  imputation ; 
since  on  this  extensive  continent  numbers  of  the  most  respect- 
able characters  may  not  know  what  your  Excellency  and  Con- 
gress do  of  my  principles  and  exertions  in  the  common  cause." 

He  further  9,dds  :  "  I  am  informed  by  persons  of  good  credit, 
that  about  one  hundred  persons,  living  on  what  are  commonly 
called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  have  had  a  design  to  seize 
me  as  a  tory,  and  perhaps  still  have.  There  never  was  a  man 
so  infamously  scandalized  and  ill-treated  as  I  am." 

We  need  only  add,  that  the  Berkshire  committees  which,  in 
a  time  of  agitation  and  alarm,  had  hastil}'-  given  countenance  to 
these  imputations,  investigated  them  deliberately  in  their  cooler 
moments,  and  acknowledged,  in  a  letter  to  Washington,  that 
they  were  satisfied  their  suspicions  respecting  General  Schuyler 
were  wholly  groundless.  "We  sincerely  hope,"  added  they, 
"  his  name  may  be  handed  down,  with  immortal  honor,  to  the 
latest  posterity,  as  one  of  the  great  pillars  of  the  American 


CHAPTER   LXIII. 

GATES       SENT      TO      PHILADELPHIA     WITH      THE     CANADA     DE- 
SPATCHES.  PROMOTED  TO  THE  RANK  OP  MAJOR-GENERAL. 

WASHINGTON    SUMMONED  TO    PHILADELHIA. PUTNAM    LEFT 

IN  COMMAND. CONFERENCE  WITH  CONGRESS. ARMY  AR- 
RANGEMENTS.  A  BOARD  OF  WAR  INSTITUTED. THE  CLIN- 
TONS    OF    NEW    YORK. MRS.    WASHINGTON      INOCULATED. 

REED  MADE  ADJUTANT-GENERAL. 

As  the  reverses  in  Canada  would  affect  the  fortunes  of  the 
Revolution  elsewhere,  Washington  sent  General  Gates  to  lay 
the  despatches  concerning  them  before  Congress.  "  His  mili- 
tary experience,"  said  he,  "  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
situation  of  our  affairs,  will  enable  him  to  give  Congress  the 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  437 

fullest  satisfaction  about  the  measures  necessary  to  be  adopted 
at  this  alarming  crisis ;  and,  with  his  zeal  and  attachment  to 
the  cause  of  America,  he  will  have  a  claim  to  their  notice  and 
favors." 

Scarce  had  Gates  departed  on  his  mission  (May  19th),  when 
Washington  himself  received  a  summons  to  Philadelphia,  to 
advise  with  Congress  concerning  the  opening  campaign.  He 
was  informed  also  that  Gates,  on  the  16th  of  May,  had  been 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and  Mifflin  to  that  of 
brigadier-general,  and  a  wish  was  intimated  that  they  might 
take  the  command  of  Boston. 

Washington  prepared  to  proceed  to  Philadelphia.  His  gen- 
eral orders  issued  on  the  19th  of  May,  show  the  anxious  situ- 
ation of  affairs  at  New  York.  In  case  of  an  alarm  the  respective 
regiments  were  to  draw  up  opposite  to  their  encampments 
or  quarters,  until  ordered  to  repair  to  the  alarm  posts.  The 
alarm  signals  for  regulars,  militia,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city,  were,  in  the  daytime,  two  cannon  fired  from  the  rampart 
at  Fort  George,  and  a  flag  hoisted  on  the  top  of  Washington's 
head-quarters.  In  the  night,  two  cannon  fired  as  above,  and 
two  lighted  lanterns  hoisted  on  the  top  of  head-quarters.* 

In  his  parting  instructions  to  Putnam,  who,  as  the  oldest 
major-general  in  the  city,  would  have  the  command  during  his 
absence,  Washington  informed  him  of  the  intention  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  York  to  seize  the  principal  tories 
and  disaffected  persons  in  the  city,  and  the  surrounding  country, 
especially  on  Long  Island,  and  authorized  him  to  afford  military 
aid,  if  required,  to  carry  the  same  into  execution.  He  was  also 
to  send  Lord  Stirling,  Colonel  Putnam  the  engineer,  and 
Colonel  Knox,  if  he  could  be  spared,  up  to  the  Highlands,  to 
examine  the  state  of  the  forts  and  garrisons,  and  report  what 
was  necessary  to  put  them  in  a  posture  of  defense.  Their  gar- 
risons were  chiefly  composed  of  parts  of  a  regiment  of  New 
York  troops,  commanded  by  Colonel  James  Clinton,  of  Ulster 
County,  and  were  said  to  be  sufficient. 

*  The  following  statement  of  the  batteries  at  New  York,  we  find  dated 
May  22d  :— 
The  Grand  Battery,  on  the  south  part  of  the  town. 
Fort  George,  immediately  above  it. 
White  Hall  Battery,  on  the  Jeft  of  the  Grand  Battery. 
Oyster  Battery,  behind  General  Washington's  head-quarters. 
Grenadier  Battery,  near  the  Brew  House  on  the  North  Kiver. 
Jersey  Battery,  on  the  left  of  the  Gi-enadier  Battery. 
Bayard^s  Hill  Redoubt,  on  Bayard's  Hill. 
Spencer  Redoubt,  on  the  hill  where  his  brigade  is  encamped. 
Waterhury's  Battery,  (fascines),  on  a  wliaif  below  this  hill. 
Badlam^s  Redoubt,  on  a  hill  near  the  Jews'  burying  gound. 


438  LIFE  OF  WASRlJSfGTOJSf. 

The  general,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Washington,  departed 
from  New  York  on  the  21st  of  May,  and  they  were  invited  by 
Mr.  Hancock,  the  President  of  Congress,  to  be  his  guests  during 
their  sojourn  at  Philadelphia. 

Lee,  when  he  heard  of  Washington's  visit  there,  argued  good 
effects  from  it.  "  I  am  extremely  glad,  dear  general,"  writes 
he,  "  that  you  are  in  Philadelphia,  for  their  councils  sometimes 
lack  a  little  of  military  electricity.'' 

Washington,  in  his  conferences  with  Congress,  appears  to 
have  furnished  this  electricity.  He  roundly  expressed  his  con- 
viction, that  no  accommodation  could  be  effected  with  Great 
Britain,  on  acceptable  terms.  Ministerialists  had  declared  in 
Parliament,  that,  the  sword  being  drawn,  the  most  coercive 
measures  would  be  persevered  in,  until  there  was  complete  sub- 
mission. The  recent  subsidizing  of  foreign  troops  was  a  part 
of  this  policy,  and  indicated  unsparing  hostility.  A  protracted 
war,  therefore,  was  inevitable ;  but  it  would  be  impossible  to 
carry  it  on  successfully  with  the  scanty  force  actually  em- 
bodied, and  with  transient  enlistments  of  militia. 

In  consequence  of  his  representations,  resolutions  were  passed 
in  Congress  that  soldiers  should  be  enlisted  for  three  years,  with 
a  bounty  of  ten  dollars  for  each  recruit ;  that  the  army  at  New 
York  should  be  reinforced  until  the  first  of  December,  with 
thirteen  thousand  eight  hundred  militia  ;  that  gondolas  and  fire- 
rafts  should  be  built,  to  prevent  the  men-of-war  and  enemy's 
ships  from  coming  into  New  York  Bay,  or  the  Narrows  ;  and 
that  a  flying  camp  of  ten  thousand  militia,  furnished  by  Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware,  and  Maryland,  and  likewise  engaged  until 
the  1st  of  December,  should  be  stationed  in  the  Jerseys  for  the 
defense  of  the  Middle  colonies.  Washington,  was,  moreover, 
empowered,  in  case  of  emergency,  to  call  on  the  neighboring 
colonies  for  temporary  aid  with  their  militia. 

Another  important  result  of  his  conferences  with  Congress 
was  the  establishment  of  a  war  office.  Military  affairs  had 
hitherto  been  referred  in  Congress  to  committees  casually  ap- 
pointed, and  had  consequently  been  subject  to  great  irregularity 
and  neglect.  Henceforth  a  permanent  committee,  entitled  '^  the 
Board  of  War  and  Ordnance,"  was  to  take  cognizance  of  them. 
The  first  board  was  composed  of  five  members  ;  John  Adams, 
Colonel  Benjamin  Harrison,  E-oger  Sherman,  James  Wilson, 
and  Edward  K-utledge  ;  with  Bichard  Peters  as  secretary.  It 
went  into  operation  on  the  12th  of  June. 

While  at  Philadelphia,  Washington  had  frequent  consulta- 
tions with  George  Clinton,  one  of  the  delegates  from  New  York, 
concerning  the  interior  defenses   of  that  province,   especially 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  439 

those  connected  with  the  security  of  the  Highlands  of  the  Hud- 
son, where  part  of  the  regiment  of  Colonel  James  Clinton,  the 
brother  of  the  delegate,  was  stationed.  The  important  part 
which  these  brothers  were  soon  to  act  in  the  military  affairs  of 
that  province,  and  ultimately  in  its  political  history,  entitles 
them  to  a  special  notice. 

They  were  of  the  old  Clinton  stock  of  England,  being  de- 
scended from  General  James  Clinton,  an  adherent  of  royalty  in 
the  time  of  the  civil  wars,  but  who  passed  over  to  Ireland,  after 
the  death  of  Charles  I.  Their  father,  Charles  Clinton,  grandson 
of  the  general,  emigrated  to  America  in  1729,  and  settled  in 
Ulster,  now  Orange  County,  just  above  the  Highlands  of  the 
Hudson.  Though  not  more  than  fifty  miles  from  the  city  of 
Kew  York,  it  was  at  that  time  on  the  borders  of  a  wilderness, 
where  every  house  had  at  times  to  be  a  fortress.  Charles  Clin- 
ton, like  most  men  on  our  savage  frontier  in  those  days,  was  a 
warrior  by  necessity,  if  not  by  choice.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  Indian  and  French  wars,  commanded  a  provincial  regiment 
stationed  at  Fort  Herkimer,  joined  in  the  expedition  under  Gen- 
eral Bradstreet,  when  it  passed  up  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk, 
and  was  present  at  the  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac.  His  sons, 
James  and  George,  one  twenty,  the  other  seventeen  years  of 
age,  served  in  the  same  campaign,  the  one  as  captain,  the  other 
as  lieutenant ;  thus  taking  an  early  lesson  in  that  school  of 
American  soldiers,  the  French  war. 

James,  whose  propensities  were  always  military,  continued  in 
the  provincial  army  until  the  close  of  that  war  j  and  afterwards, 
when  settled  on  an  estate  in  Ulster  County,  was  able  and  active 
in  organizing  its  militia.  George  applied  himself  to  the  law, 
and  became  successful  at  the  bar,  in  the  same  county.  Their 
father,  having  laid  aside  the  sword,  occupied  for  many  years, 
with  discernment  and  integrity,  the  honorable  station  of  Judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  He  died  in  Ulster  County,  in 
1773,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age,  "  in  full  view  of  that 
Revolution  in  which  his  sons  were  to  act  distinguished  parts." 
With  his  latest  breath  he  charged  them  "  to  stand  by  the  liber- 
ties of  their  country." 

They  needed  no  such  admonition.  From  the  very  first,  they 
had  been  heart  and  hand  in  the  cause.  George  had  championed 
it  for  years  in  the  Kew  York  legislature,  signalizing  himself  by 
his  zeal  as  one  of  an  intrepid  minority  in  opposing  ministerial 
oppression.  He  had  but  recently  taken  his  seat  as  delegate  to 
the  Continental  Congress. 

James  Clinton,  appointed  colonel  on  the  30th  of  June,  1775, 
had  served  with  his  regiment  of  New  York  troops  under  Mont- 


440  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

gomery  at  the  seige  of  St.  John's  and  the  capture  of  Montreal, 
after  which  he  had  returned  home.  He  had  subsequently  been 
appointed  to  the  command  of  a  regiment  in  one  of  the  four  bat- 
talions raised  for  the  defense  of  New  York.  We  shall  soon  have 
occasion  to  speak  further  of  these  patriot  brothers. 

The  prevalence  of  the  small-pox  had  frequently  rendered 
Washington  uneasy  on  Mrs.  Washington's  account  during  her 
visits  to  the  army  ;  he  was  relieved,  therefore,  by  her  submitting 
to  inoculation  during  their  sojourn  in  Philadelphia,  and  having 
a  very  favorable  time. 

He  was  gratified,  also,  by  procuring  the  appointment  of  his 
late  secretary,  Joseph  Reed,  to  the  post  of  adjutant-general,  va- 
cated by  the  promotion  of  General  Gates,  thus  placing  him  once 
more  by  his  side. 


CHAPTER  LXIY. 

AFFAIRS    IN    CANADA. DISASTER    AT    THE    CEDARS. HOSTILE 

DESIGNS  OF  THE  JOHNSONS. A  BLOODY  SUMMER   EXPECTED. 

FORTS  IN  THE  HIGHLANDS. COLONEL    JAMES    CLINTON    IN 

COMMAND. FORTIFICATIONS    AT     KING's     BRIDGE     AND     ON 

LONG   ISLAND. 

Despatches  from  Canada  continued  to  be  disastrous.  Gen- 
eral Arnold,  who  was  in  command  at  Montreal,  had  established 
a  post  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  about  forty  miles  above  that 
place,  on  a  point  of  land  called  the  Cedars  ;  where  he  had  sta- 
tioned Colonel  Bedel,  with  about  four  hundred  men,  to  prevent 
goods  being  sent  to  the  enemy,  in  the  upper  country,  and  to 
guard  against  surprise  from  them,  or  their  Indians. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  Colonel  Bedel  received  intelligence 
that  a  large  body  of  British,  Canadians,  and  Indians,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Forster,  were  coming  down  from  Os- 
wegatchie,  to  attack  him.  Leaving  Major  Butterfield  in  com- 
mand of  the  post,  he  hastened  down  to  Montreal  to  obtain  rein- 
forcements. Arnold  immediately  detached  one  hundred  men, 
under  Major  Shelburne,  and  prepared  to  follow  in  person,  with 
a  much  greater  force.  In  the  meantime,  the  post  at  the  Cedars 
had  been  besieged,  and  Major  Butterfield  intimidated  into  a 
surrender,  by  a  threat  from  Captain  Porster,  that  resistance 
would  provoke  a  massacre  of  his  whole  garrison  by  the  Indians. 
The  reinforcements  under  Mai  or  Shelburne  were  assailed  with- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  Ul 

in  four  miles  of  the  Cedars,  by  a  large  party  of  savages,  and 
captured  after  a  sharp  skirmish,  in  which  several  were  killed 
on  both  sides. 

Arnold  received  word  of  these  disasters  while  on  the  march. 
He  instantly  sent  forward  some  Caughnawaga  Indians,  to 
overtake  the  savages,  and  demand  a  surrender  of  the  prisoners  ; 
with  a  threat  that,  in  case  of  a  refusal,  and  that  any  of  tliem 
were  murdered,  he  would  sacrifice  every  Indian  who  fell  into 
his  hands,  and  would  follow  the  offenders  to  their  towns,  and 
destroy  them  by  fire  and  sword.  He  now  embarked  four  hun- 
dred of  his  men  in  bateaux,  and  pushed  on  with  the  remainder 
by  land.  Arriving  at  St.  Ann's,  above  the  rapids  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  he  discovered  several  of  the  enemy's  bateaux,  taking 
the  prisoners  off  from  an  island,  a  league  distant.  It  was  a 
tormenting  sight,  as  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  relieve  them. 
His  bateaux  were  a  league  behind,  coming  up  the  rapids  very 
slowly.  He  sent  several  expresses  to  hurry  them.  It  was  sun- 
set before  they  arrived  and  he  could  embark  all  his  people  ;  in 
the  meantime,  his  Caughnawaga  messengers  returned  with  an 
answer  from  the  savages.  They  had  five  hundred  prisoners 
collected  together,  they  said,  at  Quinze  Chiens,  where  they 
were  posted ;  should  he  offer  to  land  and  attack  them,  they 
would  kill  every  prisoner,  and  give  no  quarter  to  any  who  should 
fall  into  their  hands  thereafter. 

"  Words  cannot  express  my  feelings,"  writes  Arnold,  "  at 
the  delivery  of  this  message.  Torn  by  the  conflicting  passions 
of  revenge  and  humanity  ;  a  sufficient  force  to  take  ample  re- 
venge, raging  for  action,  urged  me  on  one  hand,  and  humanity  for 
five  hundred  unhappy  wretches,  who  were  on  the  point  of  being 
sacrificed,  if  our  vengeance  was  not  delayed,  pleaded  equally 
strong  on  the  other."  In  this  situation,  he  ordered  the  boats 
to  row  immediately  for  the  island,  whither  he  had  seen  the 
enemy  taking  their  prisoners.  Before  he  reached  it,  the  savages 
had  conveyed  them  all  away,  excepting  five,  whom  he  found 
naked,  and  almost  starved,  and  one  or  two,  whom,  being  unwell, 
they  had  butchered.  Arnold  now  pushed  for  Quinze  Chiens, 
about  four  miles  distant,  on  the  mainland.  Here  was  the  whole 
force  of  the  enemy,  civilized  and  savage,  intrenched  and  forti- 
fied. As  Arnold  approached,  they  opened  a  fire  upon  his  boats, 
with  small  arms,  and  two  brass  six-pounders.  He  rowed  near 
the  land  without  returning  a  shot.  By  this  time  it  was 
too  dark  to  distinguish  anything  on  shore,  and  being  unac- 
quainted with  the  ground,  he  judged  it  prudent  to  return  to 
St.  John^s. 

Here  he  called  a  council  of  war,  and  it  was  determined  to  at- 


442  MFE  OF  WASHINGTON* 

tack  the  enemy  early  in  the  morning.  In  the  course  of  the 
night,  a  flag  was  sent  by  Captain  Forster,  with  articles  for  an 
exchange  of  prisoners  which  had  been  entered  into  by  him  and 
Major  Shelburne.  As  the  terms  were  not  equal,  they  were  ob- 
jected to  by  Arnold,  and  a  day  passed  before  they  were  ad- 
justed. A  cartel  was  then  signed,  by  which  the  prisoners,  con- 
sisting of  two  majors,  nine  captains,  twenty  subalterns,  and 
four  hundred  and  forty-three  privates,  were  to  be  exchanged  for 
an  equal  number  of  British  prisoners  of  the  same  rank,  and 
were  to  be  sent  to  the  south  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  near 
Caughnawaga,  whence  to  return  to  their  homes.  Nine  days 
were  allowed  for  the  delivery  of  the  prisoners,  during  which 
time  hostilities  should  be  suspended. 

Arnold,  in  a  letter  to  the  commissioners  of  Congress  then  at 
Montreal,  giving  an  account  of  this  arrangement,  expressed 
his  indignation  at  the  conduct  of  the  king's  officers,  in  employ- 
ing savages  to  screen  their  butcheries,  and  suffering  their  pris- 
oners to  be  killed  in  cold  blood.  "  I  intend  being  with  you 
this  evening,  added  he,"  "  to  consult  on  some  effectual  meas- 
ures to  take  with  these  savages,  and  still  more  savage  British 
troops,  who  are  still  at  Quinze  Chiens.  As  soon  as  our  prisoners 
are  released,  I  hope  it  will  be  in  our  power  to  take  ample  ven- 
geance, or  nobly  fall  in  the  attempt."  * 

The  accounts  which  reached  Washington  of  these  affairs 
were  vague  and  imperfect,  and  kept  him  for  some  days  in  pain- 
ful suspense.  The  disasters  at  the  Cedars  were  attributed  en- 
tirely to  the  base  and  cowardly  conduct  of  Bedel  and  Butter- 
worth,  and  he  wrote  to  Schuyler  to  have  good  courts  appointed, 
and  bring  them,  and  every  other  officer  guilty  of  misconduct  to 
trial. 

"The  situation  of  our  affairs  in  Canada," observes  he,  "is 
truly  alarming.  I  sincerely  wish  the  next  letters  from  the 
northward  may  not  contain  the  melancholy  advices  of  General 
Arnold's  defeat,  and  the  loss  of  Montreal.  The  most  vigorous 
exertions  will  be  necessary  to  retrieve  our  circumstances  there, 
and  I  hope  you  will  strain  every  nerve  for  that  purpose.  Un- 
less it  can  be  done  now,  Canada  will  be  lost  to  us  forever.'^ 

While  his  mind  was  agitated  by  these  concerns,  letters  from 
Schuyler  showed  that  mischief  was  brewing  in  another  quarter. 

Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  accompanied  by  Sachem  Brant  and  the 
Butlers,  had  been  holding  councils  with  the  Indians,  and  de- 
signed, it  was  said,  to  come  back  to  the  Mohawk  country,  at  the 
head  of  a  British  and  savage  force.     A  correspondence  was  car- 

*  Arnold  to  the  Commissioners  of  Congress,  27th  May. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  443 

ried  on  between  him  and  his  cousin,  Sir  John  Johnson,  who 
was  said  to  be  preparing  to  cooperate  with  his  Scotch  dependents 
and  Indian  allies. 

Considering  this  a  breach  of  Sir  John's  parole,  Schuyler  had 
sent  Colonel  Elias  Dayton  with  a  force  to  apprehend  him.  Sir 
John,  with  a  number  of  his  armed  tenants,  retreated  for  refuge 
among  the  Indians,  on  the  borders  of  the  lakes.  Dayton  took 
temporary  possession  of  Johnson  Hall,  placed  guards  about  it, 
seized  upon  Sir  John's  papers,  and  read  them  in  presence  of 
Lady  Johnson,  and  subsequently  conveyed  her  ladyship  as  a 
kind  of  hostage  to  Albany. 

Shortly  afterwards  came  further  intelligence  of  the  designs 
of  the  Johnsons.  Sir  John  with  his  Scotch  warriors  and  Indian 
allies,  was  said  to  be  actually  coming  down  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk,  bent  on  revenge,  and  prepared  to  lay  everything  waste ; 
and  Schuyler  collecting  a  force  at  Albany  to  oppose  him. 
Washington  instantly  wrote  to  Schuyler,  to  detach  Colonel 
Dayton  with  his  regiment  on  that  service,  with  instructions  to 
secure  a  post  where  Fort  Stanwix  formerly  stood,  in  the  time 
of  the  French  war.  As  to  Schuyler  himself,  Washington,  on 
his  own  responsibility,  directed  him  to  hold  a  conference  with 
the  Six  Nations,  and  with  any  others,  whom  he  and  his  brother 
commissioners  on  Indian  affairs  might  think  necessary,  and 
secure  their  active  services,  without  waiting  further  directions 
from  Congress — that  body  having  recently  resolved  to  employ 
the  Indian  allies  in  the  war,  the  enemy  having  set  the  example. 

"  We  expect  a  bloody  summer  in  New  York  and  Canada," 
writes  Washington  to  his  brother  Augustine,  "  and  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  we  are  not,  either  in  men  or  arms,  prepared  for  it. 
However,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that,  if  our  cause  is  just,  as  I 
most  religiously  believe  it,  the  same  Providence  which  has  in 
many  instances  appeared  for  us,  will  still  go  on  to  afford  its 
aid." 

Lord  Stirling,  who,  by  Washington's  orders,  had  visited  and 
inspected  the  defenses  in  the  Highlands,  rendered  a  report  of 
their  condition,  of  which  we  give  the  purport.  Fort  Montgom- 
ery, at  the  lower  part  of  the  Highlands,  was  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  north  of  Dunderberg  (or  Thunder  Hill).  It 
was  situated  on  a  bank  one  hundred  feet  high.  The  river  at 
that  place  was  about  half  a  mile  wide.  Opposite  the  fort  was 
the  promontory  of  Anthony's  Nose,  many  hundred  feet  high, 
accessible  only  to  goats,  or  men  expert  in  climbing.  A  body  of 
riflemen  stationed  here,  might  command  the  decks  of  vessels. 
Fort  Montgomery  appeared  to  Lord  Stirling  the  proper  plac^ 
for  a  guard  post. 


444  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Fort  Constitution  was  about  six  miles  higher  up  the  river, 
on  a  rocky  island  of  the  same  name,  at  a  narrow  strait  where 
the  Hudson,  shouldered  by  precipices,  makes  a  sudden  bend 
round  West  Point.  A  redoubt,  in  the  opinion  of  Lord  Stirling, 
would  be  needed  on  the  point,  not  only  for  the  preservation  of 
Port  Constitution  but  for  its  own  importance. 

The  garrison  of  that  fort  consisted  of  two  companies  of 
Colonel  James  Clinton's  regiment,  and  Captain  Wisner's  com- 
pany of  minute  men,  in  all  one  hundred  and  sixty  rank  and 
file.  Fort  Montgomery  was  garrisoned  by  three  companies  of 
the  same  regiment,  about  two  hundred  rank  and  file.  Both 
garrisons  were  miserably  armed.  The  direction  of  the  works 
of  both  forts  was  in  the  hands  of  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York.  The  general  command 
of  the  posts  required  to  be  adjusted.  Several  persons  accused 
of  being  "  notorious  tories,"  had  recently  been  sent  into  Fort 
Montgomery  by  the  district  committees  of  the  counties  of  Al- 
bany, Dutchess,  and  Westchester,  with  directions  to  the  com- 
manding officers,  to  keep  them  at  hard  labor  until  their  further 
order.     They  were  employed  upon  the  fortifications. 

In  view  of  all  these  circumstances,  Washington,  on  the  14th 
of  June,  ordered  Colonel  James  Clinton  to  take  command  of 
both  posts,  and  of  all  the  troops  stationed  at  them.  He  seemed 
a  fit  custodian  for  them,  having  been  a  soldier  from  his  youth  ; 
brought  up  on  a  frontier  subject  to  Indian  alarms  and  incur- 
sions, and  acquainted  with  the  strong  points  and  fastnesses  of 
the  Highlands. 

King's  Bridge,  and  the  heights  adjacent,  considered  by 
General  Lee  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  communication 
between  New  York  and  the  mainland,  and  to  the  security  of 
the  Hudson,  were  reconnoitered  by  Washington  on  horseback, 
about  the  middle  of  the  month ;  ordering  where  works  should 
be  laid  out.  Brenst works  were  to  be  thrown  up  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  bridge,  and  an  advanced  work  (subsequently  called 
Fort  Independence),  was  to  be  built  beyond  it,  on  a  hill  com- 
manding Spyt  den  Duivel  Creek,  as  that  inlet  of  the  Hudson 
is  called,  which  links  it  with  the  Harlaem  River. 

A  strong  work,  intended  as  a  kind  of  citadel,  was  to  crown 
a  rocky  height  between  two  and  three  miles  south  of  the  bridge, 
commanding  the  channel  of  the  Hudson ;  and  below  it  were  to 
be  redoubts  on  the  banks  of  the  river  at  Jeffrey's  Point.  In 
honor  of  the  general,  the  citadel  received  the  name  of  Fort 
Washington. 

Colonel  Rufus  Putnam  was  the  principal  engineer,  who  had 
the    direction    of   the  works.      General   Mifflin   encamped   in 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  445 

their  vicinity,  with  part  of  the  two  battalions  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  be  employed  in  their  construction,  aided  by  the 
militia. 

While  these  preparations  were  made  for  the  protection  of 
the  Hudson,  the  works  about  Brooklyn  on  Long  Island  were 
carried  on  with  great  activity,  under  the  superintendence  of 
General  Greene.  In  a  word,  the  utmost  exertions  were  made 
at  every  point,  to  put  the  city,  its  environs,  and  the  Hudson 
River,  in  a  state  of  defense,  before  the  arrival  of  another  hostile 
armament. 


CHAPTER  LXV. 

retreat  of  general  thomas. his  death. general  sul- 
livan in   command. scene  on   the   sorel. sanguine 

expectations  of  sullivan. washington's  opinion  of 

Sullivan's  character. — gates  appointed   to  the  com- 
mand    IN    CANADA. REINFORCEMENTS     OF    THE    ENEMY. 

reverses. THOMPSON    CAPTURED. RETREAT  OF  SULLIVAN. 

CLOSE  OF  THE  INVASION  OF  CANADA. 

Operations  in  Canada  were  drawing  to  a  disastrous  close. 
General  Thomas,  finding  it  impossible  to  make  a  stand  at  Point 
Deschambault,  had  continued  his  retreat  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Sorel,  where  he  found  General  Thompson  with  part  of  the 
troops  detached  by  Washington,  from  New  York,  who  were 
making  some  preparations  for  defense.  Shortly  after  his  ar- 
rival, he  was  taken  ill  with  the  small-pox,  and  removed  to 
Chamblee.  He  had  prohibited  inoculation  among  his  troops, 
because  it  put  too  many  of  their  scanty  number  on  the  sick  list ; 
he  probably  fell  a  victim  to  his  own  prohibition,  as  he  died  of 
that  malady  on  the  2d  of  June. 

On  his  death,  General  Sullivan,  who  had  recently  arrived, 
with  the  main  detachment  of  troops  from  New  York,  succeeded 
to  the  command.  General  Wooster  having  been  recalled.  He 
advanced  immediately  with  his  brigade  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Sorel,  where  he  found  General  Thompson  with  but  very  few 
troops  to  defend  that  post,  having  detached  Colonel  St.  Clair, 
with  six  or  seven  hundred  men,  to  Three  Rivers,  about  fifty 
miles  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  give  check  to  an  advanced 
corps  of  the  enemy  of  about  eight  hundred  regulars  and  Cana- 
dians, under  the  veteran  Scot,  Colonel  Macle^-n,     In  the  mean- 


446  LI^E  OF  WASHINGTON. 

time  General  Thompson,  wlio  was  left  with  but  two  hundred 
men  to  defend  his  post,  was  sending  off  his  sick  and  his  heavy 
baggage,  to  be  prepared  for  a  retreat,  if  necessary.  "  It  really 
was  affecting,"  writes  Sullivan  to  Washington,  ^^to  see  the 
banks  of  the  Sorel  lined  with  men,  women,  and  children,  leap- 
ing and.  clapping  their  hands  for  joy,  to  see  me  arrive  ;  it  gave 
no  less  joy  to  General  Thompson,  who  seemed  to  be  wholly 
forsaken,  and  left  to  fight  against  an  unequal  force  or  retreat 
before  them." 

Sullivan  proceeded  forthwith  to  complete  the  works  on  the 
Sorel ;  in  the  meantime  he  detached  General  Thompson  with 
additional  troops  to  overtake  St.  Clair,  and  assume  command  of 
the  whole  party,  which  would  then  amount  to  two  thousand 
men.  He  was  by  no  means  to  attack  the  encampment  at  Three 
E-ivers,  unless  there  was  great  prospect  of  success,  as  his  defeat 
might  prove  the  total  loss  of  Canada.  "  I  have  the  highest 
opinion  of  the  bravery  and  resolution  of  the  troops  you  com- 
mand," says  Sullivan  in  his  instructions,  "  and  doubt  not  but, 
under  the  direction  of  a  kind  Providence,  you  will  open  the 
way  for  our  recovering  that  ground  which  former  troops  have 
so  shamefully  lost." 

Sullivan's  letter  to  Washington,  written  at  the  same  time,  is 
full  of  sanguine  anticipation.  It  was  his  fixed  determination 
to  gain  post  at  Deschambault,  and  fortify  it  so  as  to  make  it  inac- 
cessible. "  The  enemy's  ships  are  now  above  that  place,"  writes 
he  ;  "  but  if  General  Thompson  succeeds  at  three  Elvers,  I  will 
soon  remove  the  ships  below  Richelieu  Palls,  and  after  that,  ap- 
proach Quebec  as  fast  as  possible." 

"  Our  affairs  here,"  adds  he,  "  have  taken  a  strange  turn 
since  our  arrival.  The  Canadians  are  flocking  by  hundreds  to 
take  a  part  with  us.  The  only  reason  of  their  disaffection  was, 
because  our  exertions  were  so  feeble  that  they  doubted  much  of 
our  success,  and  even  of  our  ability  to  protect  them. 

"  I  venture  to  assure  you,  and  the  Congress,  that  I  can  in  a 
few  days  reduce  the  army  to  order,  and  with  the  assistance  of  a 
kind  Providence,  put  a  new  face  to  our  affairs  here,  which  a 
few  days  since  seemed  almost  impossible." 

The  letter  of  Sullivan  gave  Washington  an  unexpected 
gleam  of  sunshine.  "  Before  it  came  to  hand,"  writes  he  in 
reply,  "  I  almost  dreaded  to  hear  from  Canada,  as  my  advices 
seemed  to  promise  nothing  favorable,  but  rather  further  mis- 
fortunes. But  I  now  hope  that  our  affairs,  from  the  confused, 
distracted,  and  almost  forlorn  state  in  which  you  found  them, 
will  change,  and  assume  an  aspect  of  order  and  success."  Still 
his  sagacious  mind  perceived  a  motive  for  this  favorable  color- 


LWE  OF  WASHINGTON.  447 

ing  of  affairs.  Sullivan  was  aiming  at  the  command  in  Canada ; 
and  Washington  soberly  weighed  his  merits  for  the  appoint- 
ment, in  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress.  "  He  is  active, 
spirited,  and  zealously  attached  to  the  cause.  He  has  his  wants 
and  he  has  his  foibles.  The  latter  are  manifested  in  his  little 
tincture  of  vanity,  and  in  an  over-desire  of  being  popular,  which 
now  and  then  lead  him  into  embarrassments.  His  wants  are  com- 
mon to  us  all.  He  wants  experience  to  move  upon  a  grand  scale  ; 
for  the  limited  and  contracted  knowledge,  which  any  of  us  have 
in  military  matters,  stands  in  very  little  stead."  This  want 
was  overbalanced,  on  the  part  of  General  Sullivan,  by  sound 
judgment,  some  acquaintance  with  men  and  books,  and  an  en- 
terprising genius. 

"  As  the  security  of  Canada  is  of  the  last  importance  to  the 
well-being  of  these  colonies,"  adds  Washington,  "  I  should  like 
to  know  the  sentiments  of  Congress,  respecting  the  nomination 
of  any  officer  to  that  command.  The  character  I  have  drawn 
of  General  Sullivan  is  just,  according  to  my  ideas  of  him.  Con- 
gress will  therefore  determine  upon  the  propriety  of  continuing 
him  in  Canada,  or  sending  another,  as  the}'-  shall  see  fit."  "* 

Scarce  had  Washington  despatched  this  letter,  when  he  re- 
ceived one  from  the  President  of  Congress,  dated  the  18th  of 
June,  informing  him  that  Major-general  Gates  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  command  the  forces  in  Canada,  and  requesting  him 
to  expedite  his  departure  as  soon  as  possible.  The  appointment 
of  Gates  has  been  attributed  to  the  influence  of  the  eastern  del- 
egates, with  whom  ho  was  a  favorite ;  indeed,  during  his  sta- 
tion at  Boston,  he  had  been  highly  successful  in  cultivating  the 
good  graces  of  the  Kew  England  people.  He  departed  for  his 
command  on  the  26th  of  June,  vested  with  extraordinary 
powers  for  the  regulation  of  affairs  in  that  "  distant,  dangerous, 
and  shifting  scene."  "  I  would  fain  hope,"  writes  Washington, 
"  his  arrival  there  will  give  our  affairs  a  complexion  different 
from  what  they  have  worn  for  a  long  time  past,  and  that  many 
essential  benefits  will  result  from  it." 

Despatches  just  received  from  General  Sullivan,  had  given  a 
different  picture  of  affairs  in  Canada  from  that  contained  in 
his  previous  letter.  In  fact,  when  he  wrote  that  letter,  he  was 
ignorant  of  the  actual  force  of  the  enemy  in  Canada,  which  had 
recently  been  augmented  to  about  13,000  men ;  several  regi- 
ments having  arrived  from  Ireland,  one  from  England,  another 
from  General  Howe,  and  a  body  of  Brunswick  troops  under  the 
Baron  E-eidesel.  Of  these,  the  greater  part  were  on  the  way  up 
from   Quebec  in  divisions,  by  land  and  water,  with   Generals 

*  Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress,  July  12,  1776. 


448  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOir.  / 

Carleton,  Biirgoyne,  Philips,  and  Eeidesel ;  while  a  consider- 
able number  under  G-eneral  Frazer  had  arrived  at  Three  Eivers, 
and  others,  under  General  Nesbit,  lay  near  them  on  board  of 
transports. 

Sullivan's  despatch  dated  on  the  8th  of  June,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Sorel,  began  in  his  former  sanguine  vein,  anticipating 
the  success  of  General  Thompson's  expedition  to  Three  Rivers. 
"  He  has  proceeded  in  the  manner  proposed,  and  made  his  attack 
at  daylight,  for  at  that  time  a  very  heavy  cannonading  began, 
which  lasted  with  some  intervals  to  twelve  o'clock.  It  is  now 
near  one  P.  M.  ;  the  firing  has  ceased,  except  some  irregular 
firing  with  cannon,  at  a  considerable  distance  of  time  one  from 
the  other.  At  eight  o'clock  a  very  heavy  firing  of  small  arms 
was  heard  even  here,  at  the  distance  of  forty-five  miles.  I  am 
almost  certain  that  victory  has  declared  in  our  favor,  as  the 
irregular  firing  of  the  cannon  for  such  a  length  of  time  after 
the  small-arms  ceased,  shows  that  our  men  are  in  possession  of 
the  ground." 

The  letter  was  kept  open  to  give  the  particulars  of  this 
supposed  victory ;  it  closed  with  a  dismal  reverse.  General 
Thompson  had  coasted  in  bateaux  along  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  at  that  expanse  called  Lake  St.  Pierre,  and  arrived  at 
Nicolete,  where  he  found  St.  Clair  and  his  detachment.  He 
crossed  the  river  in  the  night,  and  landed  a  few  miles  above 
Three  Kivers,  intending  to  surprise  the  enemy  before  daylight ; 
he  was  not  aware  at  the  time  that  additional  troops  had  arrived 
under  General  Burgoyne. 

After  landing,  he  marched  with  rapidity  towards  Three 
Rivers,  but  was  led  by  treacherous  guides  into  a  morass,  and 
obliged  to  return  back  nearly  two  miles.  Day  broke,  and  he 
was  discovered  from  the  ships.  A  cannonade  was  opened  upon 
his  men  as  they  made  their  way  slowly  for  an  hour  and  a  half 
through  a  swamp.  At  length  they  arrived  in  sight  of  Three 
Rivers,  but  it  was  to  find  a  large  force  drawn  up  in  battle  array, 
under  General  Frazer,  by  whom  they  were  warmly  attacked, 
and  after  a  brief  stand  thrown  into  confusion.  Thompson 
attempted  to  rally  his  troops,  and  partly  succeeded,  until  a  fire 
was  opened  upon  them  in  rear  by  Nesbit,  who  had  landed  from 
his  ships.  Their  rout  now  was  complete.  General  Thompson, 
Colonel  Irvine,  and  about  two  hundred  men  were  captured, 
twenty-five  were  slain,  and  the  rest  pursued  for  several  miles 
through  a  deep  swamp.  After  great  fatigues,  and  sufferings  they 
were  able  to  get  on  board  of  their  boats,  which  had  been  kept 
from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  In  these  they  made 
their  way  back  to  the  Sorel,  bringing  General  Sullivan  a  sad 
explanation  of  all  the  firing  he   had  heard,  and  the  alarming  in- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  449 

telligence  of  tlie  overpowering  force  that  was  coming  up  the  river. 

"  This,  my  dear  general,"  writes  Sullivan,  in  the  conclusion 
of  his  letter,  "is  the  state  of  this  unfortunate  enterprise. 
What  you  will  next  hear  I  cannot  say.  I  am  every  moment 
informed  of  the  vast  number  of  the  enemy  which  have  arrived. 
I  have  only  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-three  rank 
and  file.  Most  of  the  officers  seem  discouraged,  and  of  course, 
tlieir  men,  I  am  employed  day  and  night  in  fortifying  and 
securing  my  camp,  and  am  determined  to  hold  it  as  long  as  a 
person  will  stick  by  me." 

He  had,  indeed,  made  the  desperate  resolve  to  defend  the 
mouth  of  the  Sorel,  but  was  induced  to  abandon  it  by  the  un- 
animous opinion  of  his  officers,  and  the  evident  unwillingness 
of  his  troops.  Dismantling  his  batteries,  therefore,  he  retreated 
with  his  artillery  and  stores,  just  before  the  arrival  of  the 
enem}'-,  and  was  followed,  step  by  step  along  the  Sorel,  by  a 
strong  column  under  General  Burgoyne. 

On  the  18th  of  June  he  was  joined  by  General  Arnold  with 
three  hundred  men,  the  garrison  of  Montreal,  who  had  crossed 
at  Longueil  ju.st  in  time  to  escape  a  large  detachment  of  the 
enemy.  Thus  reinforced,  and  the  evacuation  of  Canada  being 
determined  on  in  a  council  of  war,  Sullivan  succeeded  in  destroy- 
ing everything  at  Chamblee  and  St.  John's  that  he  could  not 
carry  away,  breaking  down  bridges,  and  leaving  forts  and  ves- 
sels in  flames,  and  continued  his  retreat  to  the  Isle  aux  Noix, 
where  he  made  a  halt  for  some  days,  until  he  should  receive 
positive  orders  from  Washington  or  General  Schuyler.  In  a 
letter  to  Washington,  he  observes,  "  I  am  extremely  sorry  it 
was  not  in  my  power  to  fulfill  your  Excellency's  wishes,  by 
leading  on  our  troops  to  victory."  After  stating  the  reason  of 
his  failure,  he  adds,  "  I  think  we  shall  secure  all  the  public 
stores  and  baggage  of  the  army,  and  secure  our  retreat  with 
very  little  loss.  Whether  we  shall  have  well  men  enough  to 
carry  them  on,  I  much  doubt,  if  we  don't  remove  quickly ;  un- 
less Heaven  is  pleased  to  restore  health  to  this  wretched  army, 
now,  perhaps,  the  most  pitiful  one  that  ever  was  formed." 

The  low,  unhealthy  situation  of  the  Isle  aux  Noix,  obliged 
him  soon  to  remove  his  camp  to  the  Isle  La  Motte,  whence,  on 
receiving  orders  to  that  effect  from  General  Schuyler,  he 
ultimately  embarked  with  his  forces,  sick  and  well,  for  Crown 
Point. 

Thus  ended  this  famous  invasion  ;  an  enterprise  bold  in  its 
conceptions,  daring  and  hardy  in  its  execution  ;  full  of  ingeni- 
ous expedients,  and  hazardous  exploits ;  and  which,  had  not 
unforeseen  circumstances  counteracted  its  well-devised  plans, 
might  have  added  all  Canada  to  the  American  Confederacy. 


450  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 

DESIGNS  OF  THE  ENEMY   AGAINST  NEW  YORK  AND  THE  HUDSON. 

PLOT  OF  TRYON  AND  THE  TORIES. ARRIVAL    OF  A  FLEET. 

ALARM  POSTS. TREACHERY  UP  THE  HUDSON. FRESH  AR- 
RIVALS.  GENERAL     HOWE    AT   STATEN     ISLAND. WASHING- 

ton's  PREPARATIONS. 

The  great  aim  of  the  British,  at  present,  was  to  get  pos- 
session of  New  York  and  the  Hudson,  and  make  them  the 
basis  of  military  operations.  This  they  hoped  to  effect  on  the 
arrival  of  a  powerful  armament,  hourly  expected,  and  designed 
for  operations  on  the  seaboard. 

At  this  critical  juncture  there  was  an  alarm  of  a  conspiracy 
among  the  tories  in  the  city  and  on  Long  Island,  suddenly  to 
take  up  arms  and  cooperate  with  the  British  troops  on  their 
arrival.  The  wildest  reports  were  in  circulation  concerning  it. 
Some  of  the  tories  were  to  break  down  King's  Bridge,  others 
were  to  blow  up  the  magazines,  spike  the  guns,  and  massacre 
all  the  field-officers.  Washington  was  to  be  killed  or  delivered 
up  to  the  enemy.  Some  of  his  own  body-guard  were  said  to 
be  in  the  plot. 

Several  publicans  of  the  city  were  pointed  out,  as  having 
aided  or  abetted  the  plot.  One  was  landlord  of  the  "  High- 
lander," at  the  corner  of  Beaver  Street  and  Broadway.  An- 
other dispensed  liquor  under  the  sign  of  "  Kobin  Hood." 
Another,  named  Lowry,  described  as  a  "fat  man  in  a  blue 
coat,"  kept  tavern  in  a  low  house  opposite  the  Oswego  market. 
Another,  James  Houlding,  kept  a  beer-house  in  Try  on  Row, 
opposite  the  gates  of  the  upper  barracks.  It  would  seem  as  if 
a  network  of  corruption  and  treachery  had  been  woven  through- 
out the  city  by  means  of  these  liquor  dealers.  One  of  the  most 
noted,  however,  was  Corbie,  whose  tavern  was  said  to  be  "  to 
the  southeast  of  General  Washington's  house,  to  the  westward 
of  Bayard's  Woods,  and  north  of  Lispenard's  Meadows,"  from 
which  it  would  appear  that,  at  that  time,  the  general  was 
quartered  at  what  was  formerly  called  Richmond  Hill;  a 
mansion  surrounded  by  trees,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  city, 
in  rather  an  isolated  situation. 

A  committee  of  the  New  York  Congress,  of  which  John  Jay 
was  chairman,  traced  the  plot  up  to  Governor  Tryon,  who,  from 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  451 

his  safe  retreat  on  shipboard,  acted  through  agents  on  shore. 
The  most  important  of  these  was  David  Matthews,  the  tory 
mayor  of  the  city.  He  was  accused  of  disbursing  money  to 
enlist  men,  purchase  arms,  and  corrupt  the  soldiery. 

Washington  was  authorized  and  requested  by  the  committee, 
to  cause  the  mayor  to  be  apprehended,  and  all  his  papers 
secured.  Matthews  was  at  that  time  residing  at  Flatbush  on 
Long  Island,  at  no  great  distance  from  General  Greene's  en- 
campment. Washington  transmitted  the  warrant  of  the  com- 
mittee to  the  general  on  the  21st,  with  directions  that  it  should 
"  be  executed  with  precision,  and  exactly  by  one  o'clock  of  the 
ensuing  morning,  by  a  careful  officer." 

Precisely  at  the  hour  of  one,  a  detachment  from  Greene's 
brigade  surrounded  the  house  of  the  mayor,  and  secured  his 
person  ;  but  no  papers  were  found,  though  diligent  search  was 
made. 

Numerous  others  arrests  took  place,  and  among  the  number, 
some  of  Washington's  body-guard.  A  great  dismay  fell  upon 
the  tories.  Some  of  those  on  Long  Island  who  had  proceeded 
to  arm  themselves,  finding  the  plot  discovered,  sought  refuge  in 
woods  and  morasses.  Washington  directed  that  those  arrested, 
who  belonged  to  the  army,  should  be  tried  by  a  court-martial, 
and  the  rest  handed  over  to  the  secular  power. 

According  to  statements  made  before  the  committee,  five 
guineas  bounty  was  offered  by  Governor  Tryon  to  each  man  who 
should  enter  the  king's  service ;  with  a  promise  of  two  hundred 
acres  of  land  for  himself,  one  hundred  for  his  wife,  and  fifty  for 
each  child.  The  men  thus  recruited  were  set  to  act  on  shore, 
in  cooperation  with  the  king's  troops  when  they  came. 

Corbie's  tavern,  near  Washington's  quarters,  was  a  kind  of 
rendezvous  of  the  conspirators.  There  one  Gilbert  Forbes,  a 
gunsmith,  "a  short,  thick  man,  with  a  white  coat,"  enlisted 
men,  gave  them  monej'-,  and  "swore  them  on  the  book  to 
secrecy."  From  this  house  a  correspondence  was  kept  up  with 
Governor  Tryon  on  shipboard,  through  a  "mulatto-colored 
negro,  dressed  in  blue  clothes."  At  this  tavern  it  was  supposed 
Washington's  body-guards  were  tampered  with.  Thomas 
Hickey,  one  of  the  guards,  a  dark-complexioned  man,  five  feet 
six  inches  high,  and  well  set,  was  said  not  only  to  be  enlisted, 
but  to  have  aided  in  corrupting  his  comrades  ;  among  others. 
Green  the  drummer,  and  Johnson  the  fifer. 

It  was  further  testified  before  the  committee,  that  one  Ser- 
geant Graham,  an  old  soldier,  formerly  of  the  royal  artillery,  had 
been  employed  by  Governor  Tryon  to  prowl  round  and  survey 
the  grounds  and  works  about  the  city,  and  on  Long  Island,  and 


452  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

that,  on  information  thus  procured,  a  plan  of  operations  had 
been  concerted.  On  the  arrival  of  the  fleet,  a  man-of-war  should 
cannonade  the  battery  at  Ked  Hook ;  while  that  was  doing,  a 
detachment  of  the  army  should  land  below  with  cannon,  and  by 
a  circuitous  march  surprise  and  storm  the  works  on  Long 
Island.  The  shipping  then,  with  the  remainder  of  the  army, 
were  to  divide,  one  part  to  run  up  the  Hudson,  the  other  up  the 
East  E-iver ;  troops  were  to  land  above  New  York^  secure  the 
pass  at  King's  Bridge,  and  cut  off  all  communication  between 
the  city  and  country.* 

Much  of  the  evidence  given  was  of  a  dubious  kind.  It  was 
certain  that  persons  had  secretly  been  enlisted,  and  sworn  to 
hostile  operations,  but  Washington  did  not  think  that  any 
regular  plan  had  been  digested  by  the  conspirators.  "The 
matter,"  writes  he,  "  I  am  in  hopes,  by  a  timely  discovery,  will 
be  suppressed."  f 

According  to  the  mayor's  own  admission  before  the  commit- 
tee, he  had-  been  cognizant  of  attempts  to  enlist  tories  and 
corrupt  Washington's  guards,  though  he  declared  he  had  dis- 
countenanced them.  He  had  on  one  occasion,  also,  at  the  request 
of  Governor  Tryon,  paid  money  for  him  to  Gilbert  Forbes,  the 
gunsmith,  for  rifles  and  round-bored  guns  which  he  had  already 
furnished,  and  for  others  which  he  was  to  make.  He  had  done 
so,  however  (according  to  his  account),  with  great  reluctance, 
and  after  much  hesitation  and  delay,  warning  the  gunsmith 
that  he  would  be  hanged  if  found  out.  The  mayor,  with  a  num- 
ber of  others,  were  detained  in  prison  to  await  a  trial. 

Thomas  Hickey,  the  individual  of  Washington's  guard,  was 
tried  before  a  court-martial.  He  was  an  Irishman,  and  had 
been  a  deserter  from  the  British  army.  The  court-martial  found 
him  guilty  of  mutiny  and  sedition,  and  treacherous  correspond- 
ence with  the  enemy,  and  sentenced  him  to  be  hanged. 

The  sentence  was  approved  by  Washington,  and  was  carried 
promptly  into  effect,  in  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  manner 
to  serve  as  a  warning  and  example  in  this  time  of  treachery  and 
danger.  On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  all  the  officers  and  men 
off  duty,  belonging  to  the  brigades  of  Heath,  Spencer,  Stirling, 
and  Scott,  assembled  under  arms  at  their  respective  parades  at 
ten  o'clock,  and  marched  thence  to  the  ground.  Twenty  men 
from  each  brigade,  with  bayonets  fixed,  guarded  the  prisoner  to 
the  place  of  execution,  which  was  a  field  near  the  Bowery  Lane. 
There  he  was  hanged  in  the  presence,  we  are  told,  of  nearly 
twenty  thousand  persons. 

*  Am.  Archives,  5th  Series,  vi.  lltT. 

t  Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress,  June  28, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  453 

While  the  city  was  still  brooding  over  this  doleful  spectacle, 
four  ships-of-war,  portentous  visitants,  appeared  off  the  Hook, 
stood  quietly  in  at  the  Narrows,  and  dropped  anchor  in  the 
bay. 

In  his  orderly  book,  Washington  expressed  a  hope  that  the 
unhappy  fate  of  Thomas  Hicke}^,  executed  that  day  for  mutiny, 
sedition,  and  treachery,  would  be  a  warning  to  every  soldier  in 
the  line  to  avoid  the  crimes  for  which  he  suffered."* 

On  the  29th  of  June,  an  express  from  the  lookout  on  ^taten 
Island,  announced  that  forty  sail  were  in  sight.  They  were,  in 
fact,  ships  from  Halifax,  bringing  between  nine  and  ten  thou- 
sand of  the  troops  recently  expelled  from  Boston,  together  with 
six  transports  filled  with  Highland  troops,  which  had  joined 
the  fleet  at  sea.  At  sight  of  this  formidable  armament  stand- 
ing into  the  harbor,  Washington  instantly  sent  notice  of  its  ar- 
rival to  Colonel  James  Clinton,  who  had  command  of  the  posts 
in  the  Highlands,  and  urged  all  possible  preparations  to  give 
the  enemy  a  warm  reception  should  they  push  their  frigates  up 
the  river. 

According  to  general  orders  issued  from  head-quarters  on  the 
following  day  (June  30),  the  officers  and  men,  not  on  duty 
were  to    march   from   their   respective    regimental  parades  to 

*  As  a  specimen  of  the  reports,  which  circulated  throughout  the  coun- 
try, concerning  this  conspiracy,  we  give  an  extract  from  a  letter,  written 
from  Wethersfield,  in  Connecticut,  9th  of  July,  1776,  by  the  Reverend 
John  Marsh. 

"  You  have  heard  of  the  infernal  plot  that  has  been  discovered. 
About  ten  days  before  any  of  the  conspirators  were  taken  up,  a  woman 
went  to  the  general  and  desired  a  private  audience.  He  granted  it  to 
her,  and  she  let  him  know  that  his  life  was  in  danger,  and  gave  him 
such  an  account  of  the  conspiracy  as  gained  his  confidence.  He  opened 
the  matter  to  a  few  friends ,  on  whom  he  could  depend.  A  strict  watch 
was  kept  night  and  day,  until  a  favorable  opportunity  occurred ;  when 
the  general  went  to  bed  as  usual,  arose  about  two  o'clock,  told  his  lady 
he  was  a-going,  with  some  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  to  order  some 
tories  seized — desired  she  would  make  herself  easy,  and  go  to  sleep.  He 
went  off  without  any  of  his  aides-de-camp,  except  the  captain  of  his 
life-guard,  was  joined  by  a  number  of  chosen  men,  with  lanterns,  and 
proper  instruments  to  break  open  houses,  and  before  six  o'clock  next 
morning,  had  forty  men  under  guard  at  the  City  Hall,  among  whom 
was  the  mayor  of  the  city,  several  merchants,  and  five  or  six  of  his  own 
life-guard.  Upon  examination,  one  Forbes  confessed  that  the  plan  was 
to  assa,ssinate  the  general,  and  as  many  of  the  superior  officers  as  they 
could,  and  to  blow  up  the  magazine  upon  the  appearance  of  the  enemy's 
fleet,  and  to  go  off  in  boats  prepared  for  that  purpose  to  join  the  enemy. 
Thomas  Hickey,  who  has  been  executed,  went  from  this  place.  He 
came  from  Ireland  a  few  years  ago.  What  will  be  done  with  the  mayor 
is  uncertain .  He  can't  be  tried  by  court-martial,  and,  it  is  said,  there 
is  no  law  of  that  colony  by  which  he  can  be  condemned.  May  he  have 
his  deserts." 


454  LIFE  OF' WASHINGTON. 

their  alarm  posts,  at  least  once  every  day,  that  they  might  be- 
come well  acquainted  with  them.  They  were  to  go  by  routes 
least  exposed  to  a  fire  from  the  shipping,  and  all  the  officers, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  were  to  make  themselves  well 
acquainted  with  the  grounds.  Upon  a  signal  of  the  enemy's 
approach,  or  upon  any  alarm,  all  fatigue  parties  were  immedi- 
ately to  repair  to  their  respective  corps,  with  their  arms,  am- 
munition, and  accoutrements,  ready  for  instant  action. 

It  was  ascertained  that  the  ramifications  of  the  conspiracy 
lately  detected,  extended  up  the  Hudson.  Many  of  the  dis- 
affected in  the  upper  counties  were  enlisted  in  it.  The  com- 
mittee of  safety  at  Cornwall,  in  Orange  County,  sent  word  to 
Colonel  James  Clinton,  Fort  Constitution,  of  the  mischief  that 
was  brewing.  James  Haff,  a  tory,  had  confessed  before  them, 
that  he  was  one  of  a  number  who  were  to  join  the  British 
troops  as  soon  as  they  should  arrive.  It  was  expected  the 
latter  would  push  up  the  river  and  land  at  Verplanck's  Point ; 
whereupon  the  guns  at  the  forts  in  the  Highlands  were  to  be 
spiked  by  soldiers  of  their  own  garrisons ;  and  the  tories 
throughout  the  country  were  to  be  up  in  arms.* 

Clinton  received  letters,  also,  from  a  meeting  of  committees 
in  the  precincts  of  Newburg,  apprising  him  that  persons  dan- 
gerous to  the  cause  were  lurking  in  that  neighborhood,  and  re- 
questing him  to  detach  twenty-five  men  under  a  certain  lieuten- 
ant acquainted  with  the  woods,  "  to  aid  in  getting  some  of 
these  rascals  apprehended  and  secured." 

While  city  and  country  were  thus  agitated  by  apprehensions 
of  danger,  internal  and  external,  other  arrivals  swelled  the 
number  of  ships  in  the  bay  of  New  York  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty,  men-of-war  and  transports.  They  made  no  movement 
to  ascend  the  Hudson,  but  anchored  off  Staten  Island,  where 
they  landed  their  troops,  and  the  hill-sides  were  soon  whitened 
with  their  tents. 

In  the  frigate  Greyhound,  one  of  the  four  ships  which  first 
arrived,  came  General  Howe.  He  had  preceded  the  fleet  in 
order  to  confer  with  Governor  Tryon,  and  inform  himself  of 
the  state  of  affairs.  In  a  letter  to  his  government  he  writes  : 
"  I  met  with  Governor  Tryon  on  board  of  a  ship  at  the  Hook, 
and  many  gentlemen,  fast  friends  of  government,  attending  him, 
from  whom  I  have  the  fullest  information  of  the  state  of  the 

rebels We  passed  the  Narrows  with  three   ships- 

of-war,  and  the  first  division  of  transports,  landed  the  grenadiers 
and  light  infantry,  as  the  ships  came  up,  on  this  island,  to  the 

*  Extracts  from  minutes  of  the  committee.  Am.  Archives,  4th.  fcJerie^ 
Vi.  1112. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  455 

great  joy  of  a  most  loyal  people,  long  suffering  on  that  account 
under  the  oppression  of  the  rebels  stationed  among  them ;  who 

precipitately  fled  on  the  approach  of  the  shipping 

There  is  great  reason  to  expect  a  numerous  body  of  the  inhabit- 
ants to  join  the  army  from  the  province  of  York,  the  Jerseys 
and  Connecticut,  who,  in  this  time  of  universal  oppression, 
only  wait  for  opportunities  to  give  proofs  of  their  loyalty  and 
zeal."  * 

Washington  beheld  tie  gathering  storm  with  an  anxious 
eye,  aware  that  General  Howe  only  awaited  the  arrival  of  his 
brother,  the  admiral,  to  commence  hostile  operations.  He 
wrote  to  the  President  of  Congress,  urging  a  call  on  the  Massa- 
chusetts government  for  its  quota  of  continental  troops,  and 
the  formation  of  a  flying  camp  of  ten  thousand  men,  to  be 
stationed  in  the  Jerseys  as  a  central  force,  ready  to  act  in  any 
direction  as  circumstances  might  require. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  he  issued  a  general  order,  calling  upon 
the  troops  to  prepare  for  a  momentous  conflict  which  was  to 
decide  their  liberties  and  fortunes.  Those  who  should  signalize 
themselves  by  acts  of  bravery,  would  be  noticed  and  rewarded ; 
those  who  proved  craven  would  be  exposed  and  punished.  No 
favor  would  be  shown  to  such  as  refused  or  neglected  to  do 
their  duty  at  so  important  a  crisis. 

*  Governor  Tryon,  in  a  letter  dated  about  this  time  from  on  board  of 
the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  off  Staten  Island,  writes:  "  The  testimony  given 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  island,  of  loyalty  to  His  Majesty,  and  attach- 
ment to  his  government,  I  flatter  myself  will  be  general  throughout  the 
province,  as  soon  as  the  army  gets  the  main  body  of  the  rebels  between 
them  and  the  sea;  which  will  leave  all  the  back  country  open  to  the 
command  of  the  king's  friends,  and  yield  a  plentiful  resource  of  provis- 
ions for  the  army,  and  place  them  in  a  better  situation  to  cut  off  the 
rebels'  retreat  when  forced  from  their  stronghold," — Am.  Archives,  5th 
Series,     122. 


456  LIFE  OF  WASnmoTON, 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 

FIRST    APPEARANCE    OF    ALEXANDER    HAMILTON- HIS    EARLY 

DAYS. GENERAL  HUGH    MERCER    IN    COMMAND  OF  THE  FLY- 
ING CAMP. DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. ANNOUNCED 


About  this  time,  we  have  the  first  appearance  in  the  military 
ranks  of  the  Revolution,  of  one  destined  to  take  an  active  and 
distinguished  part  in  public  affairs ;  and  to  leave  the  impress  of 
his  genius  on  the  institutions  of  the  country. 

As  General  Greene  one  day,  on  his  way  to  Washington's 
head-quarters,  was  passing  through  a  field, — then  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  city,  now  in  the  heart  of  its  busiest  quarter, 
and  known  as  "  the  Park," — he  paused  to  notice  a  provincial 
company  of  artillery,  and  was  struck  with  its  able  performances, 
and  with  the  tact  and  talent  of  its  commander.  He  was  a 
mere  youth,  apparently  about  twenty  years  of  age ;  small  in 
person  and  stature,  but  remarkable  for  his  alert  and  manly 
bearing.     It  was  Alexander  Hamilton. 

Greene  was  an  able  tactician,  and  quick  to  appreciate  any  dis- 
play of  military  science ;  a  little  conversation  sufiiced  to  con- 
vince him  that  the  youth  before  him  had  a  mind  of  no  ordinary 
grasp  and  quickness.  He  invited  him  to  his  quarters,  and 
from  that  time  cultivated  his  friendship. 

Hamilton  was  a  native  of  the  island  of  Nevis,  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  at  a  very  early  age  had  been  put  in  a  counting- 
house  at  Santa  Cruz.  His  nature,  however,  was  aspiring.  "  I 
contemn  the  groveling  condition  of  a  clerk  to  which  my  fortune 
condemns  me,"  writes  he  to  a  youthful  friend,  "  and  would 
willingly  risk  my  life,  though  not  my  character,  to  exalt  my 

station I  mean  to  prepare  the  way  for  futurity. 

I  am  no  philosopher,  and  may  be  justly  said  to  build  castles  in 
the  air ;  yet  we  have  seen  such  schemes  succeed,  when  the  pro- 
jector is  constant.     I  shall  conclude  by  saying,  I  wish  there  was 


Still  he  applied  himself  with  zeal  and  fidelity  to  the  duties 
of  his  station,  and  such  were  the  precocity  of  his  judgment,  and 
his  aptness  at  accounts,  that,  before  he  was  fourteen  years  of 
age,  he  was  left  for  a  brief  interval,  during  the  absence  of  the 
principal,  at  the  head  of  the  establishment.     While  his  situa- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  457 

tion  in  the  house  gave  him  a  practical  knowledge  of  business, 
and  experience  in  finance,  his  leisure  hours  were  devoted  to 
self-cultivation.  He  made  himself  acquainted  with  mathematics 
and  chemistry,  and  indulged  a  strong  propensity  to  literature. 
Some  early  achievements  of  his  pen  attracted  attention,  and 
showed  such  proof  of  talent,  that  it  was  determined  to  give  him 
the  advantage  of  a  regular  education.  He  was  accordingly  sent 
to  Elizahethtown,  in  the  Jerseys,  in  the  autumn  of  1772,  to 
prepare,  by  a  course  of  studies,  for  admission  into  King's  (now 
Columbia)  College,  at  New  York.  He  entered  in  the  college 
as  a  private  student,  in  the  latter  part  of  1773,  and  endeavored, 
by  diligent  application,  to  fit  himself  for  the  medical  profession. 

The  contentions  of  the  colonies  with  the  mother  country  gave 
a  different  direction  and  impulse  to  his  ardent  and  aspiring 
mind.  He  soon  signalized  himself  by  the  exercise  of  his  pen, 
sometimes  in  a  grave,  sometimes  in  a  satirical  manner.  On 
the  6th  of  July,  1774,  there  was  a  general  meeting  of  the 
citizens  in  the  "Fields,"  to  express  their  abhorrence  of  the 
Boston  Port  Bill.  Hamilton  was  present,  and,  prompted  by 
his  excited  feelings  and  the  instigation  of  youthful  companions, 
ventured  to  address  the  multitude.  The  vigor  and  maturity 
of  his  intellect,  contrasted  with  his  youthful  appearance,  won 
the  admiration  of  his  auditors ;  even  his  diminutive  size  gave 
additional  effect  to  his  eloquence. 

The  war,  for  which  in  his  boyish  days  he  had  sighed,  was  ap- 
proaching. He  now  devoted  himself  to  military  studies,  espe- 
cially pyrotechnics  and  gunnery,  and  formed  an  amateur  corps 
out  of  a  number  of  his  fellow-students,  and  the  young  gentle- 
men of  the  city.  In  the  month  of  March,  1776,  he  became 
captain  of  artillery,  in  a  provincial  corps,  newly  raised,  and 
soon,  by  able  drilling,  rendered  it  conspicuous  for  discipline. 

It  was  while  exercising  his  artillery  company  that  he  at- 
tracted, as  we  have  mentioned,  the  attention  of  General  Greene. 
Further  acquaintance  heightened  the  general's  opinion  of  his 
extraordinary  merits,  and  he  took  an  early  occasion  to  intro- 
duce him  to  the  commander-in-chief,  by  whom  we  shall  soon 
find  him  properly  appreciated. 

A  valuable  accession  to  the  army  at  this  anxious  time,  was 
Washington's  neighbor,  and  former  companion  in  arms,  Hugh 
Mercer,  the  veteran  of  Culloden  and  Fort  Duquesne.  His 
military  spirit  was  alert  as  ever ;  the  talent  he  had  shown  in  or- 
ganizing the  Virginia  militia,  and  his  zeal  and  efficiency  as  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  safety,  had  been  properly  appreciated 
by  Congress,  and  on  the  5th  of  June  he  had  received  the  com- 
mission of  brigadier-general.     He  was    greeted   by  Washing- 


458  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

ton  with  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  The  flying  camp  was 
about  forming.  The  committee  of  safety  of  Pennsylvania  were 
forwarding  some  of  the  militia  of  that  province  to  the  Jerseys, 
to  perform  the  service  of  the  camp  until  the  militia  levies, 
specified  by  Congress,  should  arrive.  Washington  had  the 
nomination  of  some  continental  officer  to  the  command.  He 
gave  it  to  Mercer,  of  whose  merits  he  felt  sure,  and  sent  him 
over  to  Paulus  Hook,  in  the  Jerseys,  to  make  arrangements 
for  the  Pennsylvania  militia  as  they  should  come  in  ;  recom- 
mending him  to  Brigadier-general  William  Livingston,  as  an 
officer  on  whose  experience  and  judgment  great  confidence 
might  be  reposed. 

Livingston  was  a  man  inexperienced  in  arms,  but  of  education, 
talent,  sagacity,  and  ready  wit.  He  was  of  the  New  York 
family  of  the  same  name,  but  had  resided  for  some  time  in  the 
Jerseys,  having  a  spacious  mansion  in  Elizabethtown,  which  he 
had  named  Liberty  Hall.  Mercer  and  he  were  to  consult  to- 
gether, and  concert  plans  to  repel  invasions ;  the  New  Jersey 
militia,  however,  were  distinct  from  the  flying  camp,  and  only 
called  out  for  local  defense.  New  Jersey's  greatest  danger  of 
invasion  was  from  Staten  Island,  where  the  British  were  throw- 
ing up  works,  and  whence  they  might  attempt  to  cross  to  Am- 
boy.  The  flying  camp  was  therefore  to  be  stationed  in  the 
neighborhood  of  that  place. 

"  Tlie  known  disaffection  of  the  people  of  Amboy,"  writes 
Washington,  "  and  the  treachery  of  those  on  Staten  Island, 
who,  after  the  fairest  professions,  have  shown  themselves  our 
most  inveterate  enemies,  have  induced  me  to  give  directions 
that  all  persons  of  known  enmity  and  doubtful  character  should 
be  removed  from  those  places." 

According  to  General  Livingston's  humorous  account,  his 
own  village  of  Elizabethtown  was  not  much  more  reliable,  being 
peopled  in  those  agitated  times  "  by  unknown,  unrecommended 
strangers,  guilty-looking  tories,  and  very  knavish  whigs." 

While  danger  was  gathering  round  New  York,  and  its  inhab- 
itants were  in  mute  suspense  and  fearful  anticipations,  the 
General  Congress  at  Philadelphia  was  discussing,  with  closed 
doors,  what  John  Adams  pronounced — "  The  greatest  question 
ever  debated  in  America,  and  as  great  as  ever  was  or  will  be  de- 
bated among  men."  The  result  was,  a  resolution  passed  un- 
animously, on  the  2d  of  July,  "  that  these  United  Colonies  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States." 

''The  2d  of  July,"  adds  the  same  patriot  statesman,"  will  be 
the  most  memorable  epoch  in  the  history  of  America.  I  am 
apt  to  believe  that  it  will  be    celebrated  by  succeeding  genera- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  450 

tions,  as  the  great  anniversary  festival.  It  ought  to  be  com- 
memorated as  the  day  of  deliverance,  by  solemn  acts  of  devotion 
to  Almighty  Grod.  It  ought  to  be  solemnized  with  pomp  and 
parade,  with  shows,  games,  sports,  guns,  bells,  bonfires,  and  il- 
luminations, from  one  end  of  this  continent  to  the  other,  from 
this  time  forth  forevermore." 

The  glorious  event  has,  indeed,  given  rise  to  an  annual  jubi- 
lee, but  not  on  the  day  designated  by  Adams.  The  fourth  of 
July  is  the  day  of  national  rejoicing,  for  on  that  day  the  "Dec- 
laration of  Independence,"  that  solemn  and  sublime  document, 
was  adopted.  Tradition  gives  a  dramatic  effect  to  its  announce- 
ment. It  was  known  to  be  under  discussion,  but  the  closed 
doors  of  Congress  excluded  the  populace.  They  awaited,  in 
throngs,  an  appointed  signal.  In  the  steeple  of  the  state-house 
was  a  bell,  imported  twenty-three  years  previously  from  Lon- 
don by  the  Provincial  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania.  It  bore  the 
portentious  text  from  Scripture  :  "Proclaim  liberty  throughout 
all  the  land,  unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof."  A  joyous  peal 
from  that  bell  gave  notice  that  the  bill  had  been  passed.  It 
was  the  knell  of  British  domination. 

No  one  felt  the  importance  of  the  event  more  deeply  than 
John  Adams,  for  no  one  had  been  more  active  in  producing  it. 
We  quote  his  words  written  at  the  moment.  "  When  I  look 
back  to  the  year  1761,  and  recollect  the  argument  concerning 
writs  of  assistance  in  the  superior  court,  which  I  have  hitherto 
considered  as  the  commencement  of  the  controversy  between 
Great  Britain  and  America,  and  run  through  the  whole  period 
from  that  time  to  this,  and  recollect  the  series  of  political  events, 
the  chain  of  causes  and  effects,  I  am  surprised  at  the  sudden- 
ness, as  well  as  the  greatness  of  this  devolution ;  Great  Britain 
has  been  filled  with  folly,  America  with  wisdom." 

His  only  regret  was,  that  the  declaration  of  independence 
had  not  been  made  sooner.  "  Had  it  been  made  seven  months 
ago,"  said  he,  "  we  should  have  mastered  Quebec,  and  been  in 
possession  of  Canada,  and  might  before  this  hour  have  formed 
alliances  with  foreign  states.  Many  gentlemen  in  high  sta- 
tions, and  of  great  influence,  have  been  duped  by  the  minis- 
terial bubble  of  commissioners  to  treat,  and  have  been  slow  and 
languid  in  promoting  measures  for  the  reduction  of  that  prov- 
ince." 

Washington  hailed  the  declaration  with  joy.  It  is  true,  it 
was  but  a  formal  recognition  of  a  state  of  things  which  had 
long  existed,  but  it  put  an  end  to  all  those  temporizing  hopes 
of  reconciliation  which  had  clogged  the  military  action  of  the 
country. 


460  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  he  caused  it  to  be  read  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  at  the  head  of  each  brigade  of  the  army.  "  The 
general  hopes,"  said  he  in  his  orders,  "that  this  important 
event  will  serve  as  a  fresh  incentive  to  every  officer  and  sol- 
dier, to  act  with  fidelity  and  courage,  as  knowing  that  now  the 
peace  and  safety  of  his  country  depend,  under  God,  solely  on 
the  success  of  our  arms ;  and  that  he  is  now  in  the  service  of  a 
state,  possessed  of  sufficient  power  to  reward  his  merit,  and  ad- 
vance him  to  the  highest  honors  of  a  free  country." 

The  excitable  populace  of  New  York  were  not  content  with 
the  ringing  of  bells  to  proclaim  their  joy.  There  was  a  leaden 
statue  of  George  III.  in  the  Bowling  Green  in  front  of  the  fort. 
Since  kingly  rule  is  at  an  end,  why  retain  its  effigy  ?  On  the 
same  evening,  therefore,  the  statue  was  pulled  down  amid  the 
shouts  of  the  multitude,  and  broken  up  to  be  run  into  bullets 
"  to  be  used  in  the  cause  of  independence." 

Some  of  the  soldiery  having  been  implicated  in  this  popular 
effervescence,  Washington  censured  it  in  general  orders,  as 
having  much  the  appearance  of  a  riot  and  a  want  of  discipline, 
and  the  army  wBiS  forbidden  to  indulge  in  any  irregularities  of 
the  kind.  It  was  his  constant  effort  to  inspire  his  countrymen 
in  arms  with  his  own  elevated  idea  of  the  cause  in  which  they 
were  engaged,  and  to  make  them  feel  that  it  was  no  ordinary 
warfare,  admitting  of  vulgar  passions  and  perturbations.  "  The 
general  hopes  and  trusts,"  said  he,  "  that  every  officer  and  man 
will  endeavor  so  to  live  and  act  as  becomes  a  Christian  soldier,  de- 
fending the  dearest  rights  and  liberties  of  his  country."  * 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

ARRIVAL   OF   MORE    SHIPS. MOVEMENTS    OF     THE     '^  PH(ENIX" 

AND  THE  "  ROSE." PANIC  IN  THE  CITY. HOSTILE  SHIPS  UP 

THE  HUDSON. STIR    OF  WAR    ALONG  THE    RIVER. GENERAL 

GEORGE  CLINTON,  AND  THE    MILITIA  OF    ULSTER    COUNTY. 

FRESH  AGITATION  OF  NEW  YORK. ARRIVAL  OF  LORD  HOWE. 

The  exultation  of  the  patriots  of  New  York,  caused  by  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  was  soon  overclouded.  On  the 
12th  oi  July,  several  ships  stood  in  from  sea,  and  joined  the 
naval  force  below.  Every  nautical  movement  was  now  a  mat- 
ter of  speculation  and  alarm,  and  all  the  spy-glasses  in  the  city 
were  incessantly  reconnoitering  the  bay. 

*  Orderly  book,  July  9.    Sparks,  iii.  456. 


LIFJE:  of  WASHINGTON.  46l 

"  The  enemy  are  now  in  the  harbor,"  writes  an  American 
officer,  ^'  although  they  have  not  yet  ventured  themselves  with- 
in gunshot  of  the  city,  but  we  hourly  except  to  be  called  into 
action.  The  whole  army  is  out  between  two  and  three  every 
morning,  at  their  respective  alarm  posts,  and  remain  there  until 
sunrise.  I  am  morally  certain  that  it  will  not  be  long  before 
we  have  an  engagement." 

Scarce  had  this  letter  been  penned,  when  two  ships-of-war 
were  observed  getting  under  way,  and  standing  toward  the 
city.  One  was  the  JPhoenix,  of  forty  guns  ;  the  other  the  Mose^ 
of  twenty  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  Wallace,  of  unenviable 
renown,  who  had  marauded  the  New  England  coasts,  and  domi- 
neered over  E-hode  Island.  The  troops  were  immediately  at 
their  alarm  posts.  It  was  about  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  as  the  ships  and  three  tenders  came  sweeping  up  the 
bay  with  the  advantage  of  wind  and  tide,  and  shaped  their 
course  up  the  Hudson.  The  batteries  of  the  city  and  of  Paulus 
Hook,  on  the  opposite  Jersey  shore,  opened  a  fire  upon  them. 
They  answered  it  with  broadsides.  There  was  a  panic  through- 
out the  city.  Women  and  children  ran  hither  and  thither  about 
the  streets,  mingling  their  shrieks  and  cries  with  the  thunder- 
ing of  the  cannon.  "  The  attack  has  begun  !  The  city  is  to  be 
destroyed  !     What  will  become  of  us  ?  " 

The  Phoenix  and  the  Hose  continued  their  course  up  the 
Hudson.  They  had  merely  fired  upon  the  batteries  as  they 
passed ;  and  on  their  own  part  had  sustained  but  little  damage, 
their  decks  having  ramparts  of  sand-bags.  The  ships  below 
remained  in  sullen  quiet  at  their  anchors,  and  showed  no  in- 
tention of  following  them.  The  firing  ceased.  The  fear  of  a 
general  attack  upon  the  city  died  away,  and  the  agitated  citi- 
zens breathed  more  freely. 

Washington,  however,  apprehended  this  movement  of  the 
ships  might  be  with  a  different  object.  They  might  be  sent  to 
land  troops  and  seize  upon  the  passes  of  the  Highlands.  Forts 
Montgomery  and  Constitution  were  far  from  complete,  and 
were  scantily  manned.  A  small  force  might  be  sufficient  to 
surprise  them.  The  ships  might  intend,  also,  to  distribute 
arms  among  the  tories  in  the  river  counties,  and  prepare  them 
to  cooperate  in  the  apprehended  attack  upon  New  York. 

Thus  thinking,  the  moment  Washington  saw  these  ships 
standing  up  the  river,  he  sent  off  an  express  to  put  General 
Mifflin  on  the  alert,  who  was  stationed  with  his  Philadelphia 
troops  at  Fort  Washington  and  King's  Bridge.  The  same  ex- 
press carried  a  letter  from  him  to  the  New  York  Convention, 
at  that  time  holding  its  sessions  at  White  Plains  in  Westchea* 


462  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ter  County,  apprising  it  of  the  impending  danger.  His  imme- 
diate solicitude  was  for  the  safety  of  Forts  Constitution  and 
Montgomery. 

Fortunately  George  Clinton,  the  patriotic  legislator,  had  re- 
cently been  appointed  brigadier-general  of  the  militia  of  Ulster 
and  Orange  counties.  Called  to  his  native  State  by  his  mili- 
tary duties  in  this  time  of  danger,  he  had  only  remained  in 
Congress  to  vote  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  then 
hastened  home.  He  was  now  at  New  Windsor,  in  Ulster 
County,  just  above  the  Highlands.  Washington  wrote  to  him 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  12th,  urging  him  to  collect  as  great  a 
force  as  possible  of  the  New  York  militia,  for  the  protection  of 
the  Highlands  against  this  hostile  irruption,  and  to  solicit  aid, 
if  requisite,  from  the  western  parts  of  Connecticut.  "  I  have 
the  strongest  reason  to  believe,"  added  he,  "  it  will  be  absolutely 
necessary,  if  it  were  only  to  prevent  an  insurrection  of  your 
own  tories." 

Long  before  the  receipt  of  Washington's  letter,  Clinton  had 
been  put  on  the  alert.  About  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  13th,  an  alarm  gun  from  his  brother  at  Fort  Constitution, 
thundered  through  the  echoing  defiles  of  the  mountains. 
Shortly  afterwards,  two  river  sloops  came  to  anchor  above  the 
Highlands  before  the  general's  residence.  Their  captains  in- 
formed him  that  New  York  had  been  attacked  on  the  preceding 
afternoon.  They  had  seen  the  cannonade  from  a  distance,  and 
judged  from  the  subsequent  firing  that  the  enemy's  ships  were 
up  the  river  as  far  as  King's  Bridge. 

Clinton  was  as  prompt  a  soldier  as  he  had  been  an  intrepid 
legislator.  The  neighboring  militia  were  forthwith  put  in 
motion.  Three  regiments  were  ordered  out ;  one  was  to  repair  to 
Fort  Montgomery  ;  another  to  Fort  Constitution ;  the  third  to 
rendezvous  at  Newburg,  just  above  the  Highlands,  ready  to 
hasten  to  the  assistance  of  Fort  Constitution,  should  another 
signal  be  given.  All  the  other  regiments  under  his  command 
were  to  be  prepared  for  service  at  a  moment's  notice.  In  order- 
ing these  hasty  levies,  however,  he  was  as  considerate  as  he  was 
energetic.  The  colonels  were  directed  to  leave  the  frontier 
companies  at  home,  to  protect  the  country  against  the  Indians, 
and  some  men  out  of  each  company  to  guard  against  internal 
enemies. 

Another  of  his  sagacious  measures  was  to  send  expresses  to 
all  the  owners  of  sloops  and  boats  twenty  miles  up  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  to  haul  them  off  so  as  to  prevent  their  ground- 
ing. Part  of  them  were  to  be  ready  to  carry  over  the  militia  to 
the  forts.     The   rest  were   ordered  down  to  Fort  Constitution, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  463 

where  a  chain  of  them  might  be  drawn  across  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  river,  to  be  set  on  fire  should  the  enemy's  ships 
attempt  to  pass. 

Having  made  these  prompt  arrangements,  he  proceeded  early- 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  with  about  forty  of  his  neigh- 
bors, to  Fort  Constitution  J  whence,  leaving  some  with  his 
brother,  he  pushed  down  on  the  same  evening  to  Fort  Mont- 
gomery, where  he  fixed  his  headquarters,  as  being  nearer  the 
enemy  and  better  situated  to  discover  their  motions. 

Here,  on  the  following  day  (July  14th),  he  received  Wash- 
ington's letter,  written  two  days  previously ;  but  by  this  time 
he  had  anticipated  its  orders,  and  stirred  up  the  whole  country. 
On  that  same  evening,  two  or  three  hundred  of  the  hardy  Ulster 
yeomanry,  roughly  equipped,  part  of  one  of  the  regiments  he 
had  ordered  out,  marched  into  Fort  Montgomery,  headed  by 
their  colonel  (Woodhull).  Early  the  next  morning  five  hundred 
of  another  regiment  arrived,  and  he  was  told  that  parts  of  two 
other  regiments  were  on  the  way. 

''  The  men,"  writes  he  to  Washington,  "  turn  out  of  their 
harvest  fields  to  defend  their  country  with  surprising  alacrity. 
The  absence  of  so  many  of  them,  however,  at  this  time,  when 
their  harvests  are  perishing  for  want  of  the  sickle,  will  greatly 
distress  the  country.  I  could  wish,  therefore,  that  a  less  num- 
ber might  answer  the  purpose." 

On  no  one  could  this  prompt  and  brave  gathering  of  the  yeo- 
manry produce  a  more  gratifying  effect  than  upon  the  com- 
mander-in-chief ;  and  no  one  could  be  more  feelingly  alive,  in 
the  midst  of  stern  military  duties,  to  the  appeal  in  behalf  of  the 
peaceful  interests  of  the  husbandman. 

While  the  vigilant  Clinton  was  preparing  to  defend  the 
passes  of  the  Highlands,  danger  was  growing  more  imminent 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson. 

Kew  York  has  always  been  a  city  prone  to  agitations.  That 
into  which  it  was  thrown  on  the  afternoon  of  the  12th  of  July, 
by  the  broadside  of  the  Phoenix  and  the  Hose,  was  almost  im- 
mediately followed  by  another.  On  the  same  evening  there  was 
a  great  booming  of  cannon,  with  clouds  of  smoke,  from  the 
shipping  at  anchor  at  Staten  Island.  Every  spy-glass  was  again 
in  requisition.  The  British  fleet  were  saluting  a  ship  of  the 
line,  just  arrived  from  sea.  She  advanced  grandl^^^,  every  man- 
of-war  thundering  a  salute  as  she  passed.  At  her  foretop  mast- 
head she  bore  St.  George's  flag.  "  It  is  the  admiral's  ship  !  " 
cried  the  nautical  men  on  the  lookout  at  the  Battery.  "  It  is 
the  admiral's  ship ! "  was  echoed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and 
the  word  soon  flew  through  the  city,  "  Lord  Howe  is  come  ! " 


464  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  LXIX. 

PRECAUTIONS   AGAINST    TORIES. — SECRET     COMMITTEES. — DEC- 
LARATION"   OF   LORD    HOWE. HIS  LETTER  TO   THE  COLONIAL 

GOVERNORS. HIS  LETTER    TO  WASHINGTON    REJECTED. IN- 
TERVIEW  BETWEEN    THE    BRITISH    ADJUTANT-GENERAL  AND 

COLONEL  REED. RECEPTION  OF  THE  ADJUTANT  GENERAL  BY 

WASHINGTON. THE  "  PHCENIX  "  AND  "  ROSE  "  IN    THE    TAP- 
PAN  SEA  AND   HAVERSTRAW    BAY. ARMING    OF    THE  RIVER 

YEOMANRY. GEORGE  CLINTON  AT  THE  GATES  OF  THE    HIGH- 
LANDS. 

Lord  Howe  was  indeed  come,  and  affairs '  now  appeared  to 
be  approaching  a  crisis.  In  consequence  of  the  recent  con- 
spiracy, the  Convention  of  New  York,  seated  at  White  Plains 
in  Westchester  County,  had  a  secret  committee  stationed  in 
New  York  for  the  purpose  of  taking  cognizance  of  traitorous 
machinations.  To  this  committee  Washington  addressed  a 
letter  the  day  after  his  lordship's  arrival,  suggesting  the  policy 
of  removing  from  the  city  and  its  environs,  "  all  persons  of 
known  disaffection  and  enmity  to  the  cause  of  America;'^  espe- 
cially those  confined  in  jail  for  treasonable  offenses  j  who  might 
become  extremely  dangerous  in  case  of  an  attack  and  alarm. 
He  took  this  step  with  great  reluctance ;  but  felt  compelled  to 
it  by  circumstances.  The  late  conspiracy  had  shown  him  that 
treason  might  be  lurking  in  his  camp.  And  he  was  well  aware 
that  the  city  and  the  neighboring  country,  especially  West- 
chester County,  and  Queens  and  Suffolk  counties  on  Long 
Island,  abounded  with  "  tories  "  ready  to  rally  under  the  royal 
standard  whenever  backed  by  a  commanding  force. 

In  consequence  of  his  suggestion,  thirteen  persons  in  confine- 
ment for  traitorous  offenses,  were  removed  to  the  jail  of  Litch- 
field in  Connecticut.  Among  the  number  was  the  late  mayor  ; 
but  as  his  offense  was  not  of  so  deep  a  dye  as  those  whereof  the 
rest  stood  charged,  it  was  recommended  by  the  president  of  the 
Convention  that  he  should  be  treated  with  indulgence. 

The  proceedings  of  Lord  Howe  soon  showed  the  policy  of 
these  precautions.  His  lordship  had  prepared  a  declaration  ad- 
dressed to  the  people  at  large,  informing  them  of  the  powers 
vested  in  his  brother  and  himself  as  commissioners  for  restoring 
peace  j  and  inviting  communities  as  vfoil  a?  individuals,  who, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON .  465 

in  the  tumult  and  disasters  of  the  times,  had  deviated  from 
their  allegiance  to  the  crown,  to  merit  and  receive  pardon  by  a 
prompt  return  to  their  duty.  It  was  added,  that  proper  con- 
sideration would  be  had  of  the  services  of  all  who  should  contrib- 
ute to  the  restoration  of  public  tranquillity. 

His  lordship  really  desired  peace.  According  to  a  contem- 
porary, he  came  to  America  "  as  a  mediator,  not  as  a  de- 
stroyer,""^  and  had  founded  great  hopes  in  the  efficacy  of  this 
document  in  rallying  back  the  people  to  their  allegiance  ;  it 
was  a  sore  matter  of  regret  to  him,  therefore,  to  find  that,  in 
consequence  of  his  tardy  arrival,  his  invitation  to  loyalty  had 
been  forestalled  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Still  it  might  have  an  effect  in  bringing  adherents  to  the 
royal  standard ;  he  sent  a  flag  on  shore,  therefore,  .  bearing  a 
circular  letter,  written  in  his  civil  and  military  capacity,  to  the 
colonial  governor,  requesting  him  to  publish  his  address  to  the 
people  as  widely  as  possible. 

We  have  heretofore  shown  the  tenacity  with  which  "Washing- 
ton, in  his  correspondence  with  Generals  Gage  and  Howe,  ex- 
acted the  consideration  and  deference  due  to  him  as  command- 
er-in-chief of  the  American  armies ;  he  did  this  not  from  official 
pride  and  punctilio,  but  as  the  guardian  of  American  rights 
and  dignities.  A  further  step  of  the  kind  has  yet  to  be  taken. ' 
The  British  officers,  considering  the  Americans  in  arms  rebels 
without  valid  commissions,  were  in  the  habit  of  denying  them 
all  military  title.  Washington's  general  officers  had  urged  him 
not  to  submit  to  this  tacit  indignity,  but  to  reject  all  letters 
directed  to  him  without  -a  specification  of  his  official  rank. 

An  occasion  now  presented  itself  for  the  adjustment  of  this 
matter.  Within  a  day  or  two  an  officer  of  the  British  navy, 
Lieutenant  Brown,  came  with  a  flag  from  Lord  Howe,  seeking 
a  conference  with  Washington.  Colonel  Keed,  the  adjutant- 
general,  embarked  in  a  "barge,  and  met  him  half  way  between 
Governor's  and  Staten  Islands.  The  lieutenant  informed  him 
that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  Lord  Howe  to  3fr, 
Washington.  Colonel  Reed  replied,  that  he  knew  no  such  per- 
son in  the  American  army.  The  lieutenant  produced  and 
offered  the  letter.  It  was  addressed  to  George  Washington, 
Esquire.  He  was  informed  that  it  could  not  be  received  with 
such  a  direction.  -  The  lieutenant  expressed  much  concern. 
The  letter,  he  said,  was  of  a  civil,  rather  than'  a  military 
nature — Lord  Howe  regretted  he  had  not  arrived  sooner — he 
had  great  powers — it  was  much  to  be  wished  the  letter  could  be 
received. 

*  Letter  of  Mr.  Dennis  de  Berdt,  to  Mr.  Joseph  IReed^'^Am^ -Archives, 
-5th  Series,  i.  372. 


46G  LIFE  OF  WASBINGTpN. 

While  the  lieutenant  was  embarrassed  and  agitated,  Keed 
maintained  his  coolness,  politely  declining  to  receive  the  letter, 
as  inconsistent  with  his  duty.  They  parted  ;  but  after  the 
lieutenant  had*l)een  rowed  some  little  distance,  his  barge  was 
put  about,  and  Reed  waited  to  hear  what  further  he  had  to  say. 
It  was  to  ask  by  what  title  General — but  catching  himself.  Mi\ 
Washington  chose  to  be  addressed. 

Reed  replied  that  the  general's  station  in  the  army  was  well 
known  ;  and  they  could  not  be  at  a  loss  as  to  the  proper  mode 
of  addressing  him,  especially  as  this  matter  had  been  discussed 
in  the  preceding  summer,  of  which,  he  presumed,  the  admiral 
could  not  be  ignorant.  The  lieutenant  again  expressed  his  dis- 
appointment and  regret,  and  their  interview  closed. 

On  the  19th,  an  aide-de-camp  of  General  .Howe  came  with  a 
flag,  and  requested  to  know,  as  there  appeared  to  be  an  obstacle 
to  a  correspondence  between  the  two  generals,  whether 
Colonel  Patterson,  the  British  adjutant-general,  could  be  ad- 
mitted to  an  interview  with  General  Washington.  Colonel 
Reed,  who  met  the  flag,  consented  in  the  name  of  the  general, 
and  pledged  his  honor  for  the  safety  of  the  adjutant-general 
during  the  interview,  which  was  fixed  for  the  following 
morning. 

At  the  appointed  time.  Colonel  Reed,  and  Colonel  Webb,  one 
of  Washington's  aides,  met  the  flag  in  the  harbor,  took  Colonel 
Patterson  into  their  barge,  and  escorted  him  to  town,  passing 
in  front  of  the  grand  battery.  The  customary  precaution  of 
blindfolding  was  dispensed  with  ;  and  there  was  a  lively  and 
sociable  conversation  the  whole  way.  Washington  received  the 
adjutant-general  at  head-quarters  with  much  form  and  ceremony, 
in  full  military  array  with  his  officers  and  guards  about  him. 

Colonel  Pattersen,  addressing  him  by  the  title  of  your  excel- 
lency, endeavored  to  explain  the  address  of  the  letter  as  consist- 
ent with  propriety,  and  founded  on  a  similar  address  in  the 
previous  summer,  to  General  Howe.  That  General  Howe  did  not 
mean  to  derogate  from  the  rank  or  respect  of  General  Washing- 
ton, but  conceived  such  an  address  consistent  with  what  had  been 
used  by  ambassadors  or  plenipotentiaries  where  difficulties  of 
rank  had  arisen.  He  then  produced,  but  did  not  offer,  a  letter 
addressed  to  George  Washington,  Esquire,  etc.  etc.,  hoping 
that  the  et  ceteras,  which_  implied  everything,  would  remove 
all  impediments. 

Washington  replied  that  it 'was  true  the  et  ceteras  implied 
everything,  but  they  also  implied  anything.  His  letter  al- 
luded to,  of  the  previous  summer,  was  in  reply' tb  one  addressed 
in  like  "rhanner,     A  letter,   he  added,   addressed  to   a   person 


L1F:E  of  WASHINGTON  467 

iicting  in  a  public  character,  should  have  some  inscriptions  to 
designate  it  from  a  mere  private  letter ;  and  he  should  absolutely 
decline  any  letter  addressed  to  himself  as  a  private  person, 
when  it  related  to  his  public  station. 

Colonel  Patterson,  finding  the  letter  would  not  be  received, 
endeavored,  as  far  as  he  could  recollect,  to  communicate  the 
scope  of  it  in  the  course  of  a  somewhat  desultory  conversation. 
What  he  chiefly  dwelt  upon  was,  that  Lord  Howe  and  his 
brother  had  been  specially  nominated  commissioners  for  the 
promotion  of  peace,  which  was  esteemed  a  mark  of  favor  and 
regard  to  America ;  that  they  had  great  powers,  and  would 
derive  the  highest  pleasure  from  effecting  an  accommod^ion  ; 
and  he  concluded  by  adding,  that  he  wished  his  visit  to  be 
considered  as  making  the  first  advance  toward  that  desirable 
object. 

Washington  replied  that,  by  what  had  appeared  (alluding, 
no  doubt,  to  Lord  Howe's  circular),  their  powers,  it  would 
seem,  were  only  to  grant  pardons.  Now  those  who  had  com- 
mitted no  fault  needed  no  pardon ;  and  such  was  the  case  with 
the  Americans,  who  were  only  defending  what  they  considered 
their  indisputable  rights. 

Colonel  Patterson  avoided  a  discussion  of  this  matter,  which, 
he  observed,  would  open  a  very  wide  field  ;  so  here  the  confer- 
ence, which  had  been  conducted  on  both  sides  with  great 
courtesy,  terminated.  The  colonel  took  his  leave,  excusing 
himself  from  partaking  of  a  collation,  having  made  a  late 
breakfast,  and  was  again  conducted  to  his  boat.  He  expressed 
himself  highly  sensible  of  the  courtesy  of  his  treatment,  in  hav- 
ing the  usual  ceremony  of  blindfolding  dispensed  with. 

Washington  received  the  applause  of  Congress  and  of  the 
public  for  sustaining  the  dignity  of  his  station.  His  conduct 
in  this  particular  was  recommended  as  a  model  to  all  American 
officers  in  corresponding  with  the  enemy  ;  and  Lord  Howe  in- 
formed his  government  that,  thenceforward,  it  would  be  politic 
to  change  the  superscription  of  his  letters. 

In  the  meantime  the  irruption  of  the  Phoenix  and  the  Rose 
into  the  waters  of  the  Hudson  had  roused  a  belligerent  spirit 
along  its  borders.  The  lower  part  of  that  noble  river  is  com- 
manded on  the  eastern  side  by  the  bold  woody  heights  of 
Manhattan  Island  and  Westchester  County,  and  on  the  western 
side  by  the  rocky  cliffs  of  the  Palisades.  Beyond  those  cliffs, 
the  river  expands  into  a  succession  of  what  may  almost  be 
termed  lakes  ;  first  the  Tappan  Sea,  then  Haverstraw  Bay,  then 
the  Bay  of  Peekskill ;  separated  from  each  other  by  long 
stretching  points,  or  high  beetling  promontories,  but   affording 


468  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ample  sea-room  and  safe  anchorage.  Then  come  the  redoubt- 
able Highlands,  that  strait,  fifteen  miles  in  length,  where  the 
river  bends  its  course,  narrow  and  deep,  between  rocky,  forest- 
clad  mountains. 

"  He  who  has  command  of  that  grand  defile,"  said  an  old 
navigator,  '^may  at  any  time  throttle  the  Hudson." 

The  New  York  Convention,  aware  of  the  impending  danger, 
despatched  military  envoys  to  stir  up  the  yeomanry  along  the 
river,  and  order  out  militia.  Powder  and  ball  were  sent  to 
Tarrytown,  before  which  the  hostile  ships  were  anchored,  and 
yeoman  troops  were  stationed  there  and  along  the  neighboring 
shores  of  the  Tappan  Sea.  In  a  little  while  the  militia  of 
Dutchess  County  and  Cortlandt's  Manor  were  hastening, 
rudely  armed,  to  protect  the  public  stores  at  Peekskill,  and 
mount  guard  at  the  entrance  of  the  Highlands. 

No  one  showed  more  zeal  in  this  time  of  alarm,  than  Colonel 
Pierre  Van  Cortlandt,  of  an  old  colonial  family,  which  held  its 
manorial  residence  at  the  mouth  of  the  Croton.  With  his 
regiment  he  kept  a  dragon  watch  along  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Tappan  Sea  and  Haverstraw  Bay ;  while  equal  vigilance 
was  maintained  night  and  day  along  the  western  shore,  from 
Nyack  quite  up  to  the  Dunderberg,  by  Colonel  Hay  and  his 
regiment  of  Haverstraw.  Sheep  and  cattle  were  driven  inland, 
out  of  the  reach  of  maraud.  Sentinels  were  posted  to  keep  a 
lookout  from  heights  and  headlands,  and  give  the  alarm  should 
any  boats  approach  the  shore ;  and  rustic  marksmen  were 
ready  to  assemble  in  a  moment,  and  give  them  a  warm 
reception. 

The  ships  of  war  which  caused  this  alarm  and  turmoil,  lay 
quietly  anchored  in  the  broad  expanses  of  the  Tappan  Sea  and 
Haverstraw  Bay;  shifting  their  ground  occasionally,  and 
keeping  out  of  musket  shot  of  the  shore,  apparently  sleeping 
in  the  summer  sunshine,  with  awnings  stretched  above  their 
decks  ;  while  their  boats  were  out  taking  soundings  quite  up 
to  the  Highlands,  evidently  preparing  for  further  operations. 
At  night,  too,  their  barges  were  heard  rowing  up  and  down 
the  river  on  mysterious  errands ;  perriaugers,  also,  paid  them 
furtive  visits  occcasionally ;  it  was  surmised,  with  communi- 
cations and  supplies  from  tories  on  shore. 

While  the  ships  were  anchored  in  Haverstraw  Bay,  one  of 
the  tenders  stood  into  the  Bay  of  Peekskill,  and  beat  up  within 
long  shot  of  Fort  Montgomery,  where  General  George  Clinton 
was  ensconced  with  six  hundred  of  the  militia  of  Orange  and 
Ulster  counties.  As  the  tender  approached,  a  thirty-two 
pounder  was  brought  to  range  upon   her.     The  ball   passed 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  469 

through  her  quarter ;  whereupon  she  put  about,  and  ran  round 
the  point  of  tlie  Dunderberg,  where  the  boat  landed,  plundered 
a  solitary  house  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  left  it  in 
flames.  The  marauders,  on  their  way  back  to  the  ships,  were 
severely  galled  by  rustic  marksmen,  from  a  neighboring 
promontory. 

The  ships,  now  acquainted  with  the  channel,  moved  up  with- 
in six  miles  of  Fort  Montgomery.  General  Clinton  apprehended 
they  might  mean  to  take  advantage  of  a  dark  night,  and  slip 
by  him  in  the  deep  shadows  of  the  mountains.  The  shores 
were  high  and  bold,  the  river  was  deep,  the  navigation  of 
course  safe  and  easy.  Once  above. the  Highlands,  they  might 
ravage  the  country  beyond,  and  destroy  certain  vessels  of  war 
which  were  being  constructed  at  Poughkeepsie. 

To  prevent  this,  he  stationed  a  guard  at  night  on  the  furthest 
point  in  view,  about  two  miles  and  a  half  below  the  fort,  pre- 
pared to  kindle  a  blazing  fire  should  the  ships  appear  in  sight. 
Large  piles  of  dry  brushwood  mixed  with  combustibles,  were 
prepared  at  various  places  up  and  down  the  shore  opposite  to 
the  fort,  and  men  stationed  to  set  fire  to  them  as  soon  as  a  sig- 
nal should  be  given  from  the  lower  point.  The  fort,  therefore, 
while  it  remained  in  darkness,  would  have  a  fair  chance  with 
its  batteries  as  the  ships  passed  between  it  and  these  confla- 
grations. 

A  private  committee  sent  up  by  the  New  York  Convention, 
had  a  conference  with  the  general,  to  devise  further  means  of 
obstructing  the  passage  of  ships  up  the  river.  Fire  rafts  were 
to  be  brought  from  Poughkeepsie  and  kept  at  hand  ready  for 
action.  These  were  to  be  lashed  two  together,  with  chains,  be- 
tween old  sloops  filled  with  combustibles,  and  sent  down  with  a 
strong  wind  and  tide,  to  drive  upon  the  ships.  An  iron  chain, 
also,  was  to  be  stretched  obliquely  across  the  river  from  Fort 
Montgomery  to  the  foot  of  AntJfiony's  Nose,  thus,  as  it  were, 
chaining  up  the  gate  of  the  Highlands. 

For  a  protection  below  the  Highlands,  it  was  proposed  to 
station  whale-boats  about  the  coves  and  promontories  of  Tap- 
pan  Sea  and  Haverstraw  Bay  ;  to  reconnoiter  the  enemy,  cruise 
about  at  night,  carry  intelligence  from  post  to  post,  seize  any 
river  craft  that  might  bring  the  ships  supplies,  and  cut  off  their 
boats  when  attempting  to  land.  Galleys  also,  were  prepared, 
with  nine-pounders  mounted  at  the  bows. 

Colonel  Hay  of  Haverstraw,  in  a  letter  to  Washington,  re- 
joices that  the  national  Congress  are  preparing  to  protect  this 
great  highway  of  the  country,  and  anticipates  that  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson  were  about  to  become  the  chief  theatre  of  the  war. 


470  LIFU  OF  WASHINGTON. 

NOTE. 

The  Van  Cortlandt  Family.— Two  members  of  this  old  and 
honorable  family  were  conspicuous  patriots  throughout  the  Revolution. 
Pierre  Van  Cortlaudt,  the  father,  at  this  time  about  56  years  of  age,  a 
stanch  friend  and  ally  of  George  Clinton,  was  member  of  the  first 
Provincial  Congress,  and  president  of  the  Comtnittee  of  Public  Safety. 
Governor  Tryon  had  visited  him  in  his  old  manor-house  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Croton,  in  1774,  and  made  him  offers  of  royal  favors,  honors, 
grants  of  land,  etc.,  if  he  would  abandon  the  popular  cause.  His  offers 
were  nobly  rejected.  The  Cortlandt  family  suffered  in  consequence, 
being  at  one  time  obliged  to  abandon  their  manorial  residence  ;  but  the 
head  remained  true  to  the  cause,  and  subsequently  filled  the  office  of 
lieutenant-governor  with  great  dignity. 

His  son  Pierre,  mentioned  in.  the  above  chapter,  and  then  about  27 
years  of  age,  had  likewise  resisted  the  overtures  of  Tryon,  destroyiftg  a 
major's  commission  in  the  Cortlandt  militia,  which  he  sent  him.  Con- 
gress, in  1775,  made  him  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  continental  service, 
in  which  capacity  we  now  find  him,  acquitting  himself  with  zeal  and 
ability. 


CHAPTER  LXX. 

QUESTION    OF    COMMAND    BETWEEN    GATES     AND     SCHUYLER. 

CONDITION    OF    THE   AKMY    AT  CROWN    POINT. DISCONTENT 

AND  DEPARTURE  OF  SULLIVAN. — FORTIFICATIONS  AT  TI- 
CONDEROGA. THE  QUESTION  OF  COMMAND  ADJUSTED. SE- 
CRET DISCONTENTS. SECTIONAL  JEALOUSIES  IN  THE  ARMY. 

SOUTHERN  TROOPS. SMALLWOOD's  MACARONI  BATTALION. 

CONNECTICUT    LIGHT-HORSE. 

While  the  security  of  the  Hudson  from  invading  ships  was 
claiming  the  attention  of  Washington,  he  was  equally  anxious 
to  prevent  an  irruption  of  the  enemy  from  Canada.  He  was 
grievedj  therefore,  to  find  there  was  a  clashing  of  authorities 
between  the  generals  who  had  charge  of  the  Korthern  frontier. 
Gates,  on  his  way  to  take  command  of  the  army  in  Canada,  had 
heard  with  surprise  in  Albany,  of  its  retreat  across  the  New 
York  frontier.  He  still  considered  it  under  his  orders,  and 
was  proceeding  to  act  accordingly ;  when  General  Schuyler  ob- 
served, that  the  resolution  of  Congress,  and  the  instructions  of 
Washington,  applied  to  the  army  only  while  in  Canada;  the 
moment  it  retreated  within  the  limits  of  New  York,  it  came 
within  his  (Schuyler's)  command.  A  letter  from  Schuyler  to 
Washington,  written  at  the  time  says*.  "If  Congress  intended 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  47I 

that  General  Gates  should  command  the  Northern  army, 
wherever  it  may  be,  as  he  assures  me  they  did,  it  ought  to  have 
been  signified  to  me,  and  I  should  then  have  immediately  re- 
signed the  command  to  him ;  but  until  such  intention  is  prop- 
erly conveyed  to  me,  I  never  can.  I  must,  therefore,  entreat 
your  excellency  to  lay  this  letter  before  Congress,  that  they  may 
clearly  and  explicitly  signify  their  intentions,  to  avert  the 
dangers  and  evils  that  may  arise  from  a  disputed  command." 

That  there  might  be  no  delay  in  the  service  at  this  critical 
juncture,  the  two  generals  agreed  to  refer  the  question  of  com- 
mand to  Congress,  and  in  the  meantime  to  act  in  concert.  They 
accordingly  departed  together  for  Lake  Champlain,  to  prepare 
against  an  anticipated  invasion  by  Sir  Guy  Carleton.  They 
arrived  at  Crown  Point  on  the  6th  of  July,  and  found  there  the 
wrecks  of  the  army  recently  driven  out  of  Canada.  They  had 
been  harassed  in  their  retreat  by  land ;  their  transportation  on 
the  lake  had  been  in  leaky  boats,  without  awnings,  where  the 
sick,  suffering  from  small-pox,  lay  on  straw,  exposed  to  a  burn- 
ing July  sun  ;  no  food  but  salt  pork,  often  rancid,  hard  biscuit 
or  unbaked  flour,  and  scarcely  any  medicine.  Not  more  than 
six  thousand  men  had  reached  Crown  Point,  and  half  of  those 
were  on  the  sick  list ;  the  shattered  remains  of  twelve  or  fif- 
teen very  fine  battalions.  Some  few  were  sheltered  in  tents, 
some  under  sheds,  and  others  in  huts  hastily  formed  of  bushes ; 
scarce  one  of  which  but  contained  a  dead  or  dying  man.  Two 
thousand  eight  hundred  were  to  be  sent  to  a  hospital  recently 
established  at  the  south  end  of  Lake  George,  a  distance  of  fifty 
miles ;  when  they  were  gone,  with  those  who  were  to  row  them 
in  boats,  there  would  remain  but  the  shadow  of  an  army."^ 

In  a  council  of  war,  it  was  determined  that,  under  present 
circumstances,  the  post  of  Crown  Point  was  not  tenable  ;  neither 
was  it  capable  of  being  made  so  this  summer,  without  a  force 
greatly  superior  to  any  they  might  reasonably  expect ;  and  that, 
therefore,  it  was  expedient  to  fall  back,  and  take  a  strong  posi- 
tion at  Ticonderoga. 

General  Sullivan  had  been  deeply  hurt  that  Gates,  his 
former  inferior  in  rank,  should  have  been  appointed  over  him 
to  the  command  of  the  army  in  Canada ;  considering  it  a  tacit 
intimation  that  Congress  did  not  esteem  him  competent  to  the 
trust  which  had  devolved  upon  him.  He  now,  therefore,  re- 
quested leave  of  absence,  in  order  to  wait  on  the  commander- 
in-chief.  It  was  granted  with  reluctance.  Before  departing, 
he  communicated  to  the  army,  through  General  Schuyler,  his 
high  and  grateful  sense  pf  their  exertions  in  securing  a  retreat 
*  Col.  John  Trumbull's  Autobiography,  p.  285,  Appendix. 


472  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

from  Canada,  and  the  cheerfulness  with  which  his  commands 
had  been  received  and  obeyed. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  Schuyler  and  Gates  returned  to  Ticon- 
deroga,  accompanied  by  Arnold.  Instant  arrangements  were 
made  to  encamp  the  troops,  and  land  the  artillery  and  stores  as 
fast  as  they  should  arrive.  Great  exertions,  also,  were  made 
to  strengthen  the  defenses  of  the  place.  Colonel  John 
Trumbull,  who  was  to  have  accompanied  Gates  to  Canada,  as 
adjutant-general,  had  been  reconnoitering  the  neighborhood 
of  Ticonderoga,  and  had  pitched  upon  a  place  for  fortification 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake,  directly  opposite  the  east  point 
of  Ticonderoga,  where  Fort  Independence  was  subsequently 
built.  He  also  advised  the  erection  of  a  work  on  a  lofty 
eminence,  the  termination  of  a  mountain  ridge,  which  separates 
Lake  George  from  Lake  Champlain.  His  advice  was  unfort- 
unately disregarded.  The  eminence,  subsequently  called 
Mount  Defiance,  looked  down  upon  and  commanded  the  narrow 
parts  of  both  lakes.     We  shall  hear  more  of  it  hereafter. 

Preparations  were  made,  also,  to  augment  the  naval  force  on 
the  lakes.  Ship  carpenters  from  the  Eastern  States  were  em- 
ployed at  Skenesborough,  to  build  the  hulls  of  galleys  and 
boats,  which,  when  launched,  were  to  be  sent  down  to  Ticon- 
deroga for  equipment  and  armament,  under  the  superinten- 
dence of  General  Arnold. 

Schuyler  soon  returned  to  Albany,  to  superintend  the  gen- 
eral concerns  of  the  Northern  department.  He  was  indefatigable 
in  procuring  and  forwarding  the  necessary  materials  and  artil- 
lery for  the  fortification  of  Ticonderoga. 

The  question  of  command  between  him  and  Gates  was  ap- 
parently at  rest.  A  letter  from  the  President  6f  Congress, 
dated  July  8th,  informed  General  Gates,  that  according  to  the 
resolution  of  that  body  under  which  he  had  been  appointed,  his 
command  was  totally  independent  of  General  Schuyler  while 
the  array  was  in  Canada,  but  no  longer.  Congress  had  no  de- 
sign  to  divest  General  Schuyler  of  the  command  while  the 
troops  were  on  this  side  of  Canada. 

To  Schuyler,  under  the  same  date,  the  president,  writes  : 
"  The  Congress  highly  approve  of  your  patriotism  and  magna- 
nimity in  not  suffering  any  difference  of  opinion  to  hurt  the 
public  service. 

"  A  mutual  confidence  and  good  understanding  are  at  this 
time  essentially  necessary,  so  that  I  am  persuaded  they  will 
take  place  on  all  occasions  between  yourself  and  General 
Gates." 

Gates  professed  himself  entirely  satisfied  with  the  explana- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  473 

tion  lie  had  received,  and  perfectly  disposed  to  obey  the  com- 
mands of  Schuyler.  "  I  am  confident,"  added  he,  "  we  shall, 
as  the  Congress  wish,  go  hand  in  hand  to  promote  the  public 
welfare." 

Schuyler,  too,  assured  both  Congress  and  Washington,  "  that 
the  difference  in  opinion  between  Gates  and  himself  had  not 
caused  the  least  ill-will,  nor  interrupted  that  harmony  necessary 
to  subsist  between  their  officers." 

Samuel  Adams,  however,  who  was  at  that  time  in  Congress, 
had  strong  doubts  in  the  matter. 

"  Schuyler  and  Gates  are  to  command  the  troops,"  writes  he, 
the  former  while  they  are  without,  the  latter  while  they  are 
within  the  bounds  of  Canada.  Admitting  these  generals  to 
have  the  accomplishments  of  a  Marlborough,  or  a  Eugene,  I 
cannot  conceive  that  such  a  disposition  of  them  will  be  attended 
with  any  good  effects,  unless  harmony  subsists  between  them. 
Alas,  I  fear  this  is  not  the  case.  Already  disputes  have  arisen, 
which  they  have  referred  to  Congress  ;  and,  although  they  effect; 
to  treat  each  other  with  a  politeness  becoming  their  rank,  in 
my  mind,  altercations  between  commanders  who  have  preten- 
sions nearly  equal  (I  mean  in  point  of  command),  forebode  a 
repetition  of  misfortune.  I  sincerely  wish  my  apprehensions 
may  prove  groundless."  * 

We  have  a  letter  before  us,  also,  written  to  Gates,  by  his 
friend  Joseph  Trumbull,  commissary-general,  on  whose  appoint- 
ment of  a  deputy,  the  question  of  command  had  arisen.  Trum- 
bull's letter  was  well  calculated  to  inflame  the  jealousy  of  Gates. 
^'  I  find  you  are  in  a  cursed  situation,"  writes  he  ;  "  your  au- 
thority at  an  end  j  and  commanded  by  a  person  who  will  be 
willing  to  have  you  knocked  in  the  head,  as  General  Mont- 
gomery was,  if  he  can  have  the  money  chest  in  his  power." 

Governor  Trumbull,  too,  the  father  of  the  commissary- 
general,  observes  subsequently :  "  It  is  justly  to  be  expected 
that  General  Gates  is  discontented  with  his  situation,  finding 
himself  limited  and  removed  from  the  command,  to  be  a  wretched 
spectator  of  the  ruin  of  the  army,  without  power  of  attempting 
to  save  them."  f  We  shall  have  frequent  occasion  hereafter  to 
notice  the  discord  in  the  service  caused  by  this  rankling  discon- 
tent. 

As  to  General  Sullivan,  who  repaired  to  Philadelphia  and 
tendered  his  resignation,  the  question  of  rank  which  had  ag- 
grieved him  was  explained  in  a  manner  that  induced  him  to 
continue  in  service.     It  was  universally  allowed  that  his  retreat 

*  S.  Adams  to  K.  H.  Lee.     Am.  Archives,  5th  Series,  i.  347. 
t  Governor  Trumbull  to  Mr.  William  Williams. 


474  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

had  been  ably  conducted  through  all  kinds  of  difficulties  and 
disasters. 

A  greater  source  of  solicitude  to  Washington  than  this  jeal- 
ousy between  commanders,  was  the  sectional  jealousy  springing 
up  among  the  troops.  In  a  letter  to  Schuyler  (July  17th),  he 
says,  "  I  must  entreat  your  attention  to  do  away  with  the  un- 
happy and  pernicious  distinctions  and  jealousies  between  the 
troops  of  different  governments.  Enjoin  this  upon  the  officers, 
and  let  them  inculcate  and  press  home  to  the  soldiery,  the  ne- 
cessity of  order  and  harmony  among  those  who  are  embarked  in 
one  common  cause,  and  mutually  contending  for  all  that  free 
men  hold  dear." 

Nowhere  were  these  sectional  jealousies  more  prevalent  than 
in  the  motley  army  assembled  from  distant  quarters  under 
Washington's  own  command.  Keed,  the  adjutant-general, 
speaking  on  this  subject,  observes:  "The  Southern  troops, 
comprising  the  regiments  south  of  the  Delaware,  looked  with 
very  unkind  feelings  on  those  of  New  England  j  especially 
those  from  Connecticut,  whose  peculiarities  of  deportment  made 
them  the  objects  of  ill-disguised  derision  among  their  fellow- 
soldiers."  * 

Among  the  troops  thus  designated  as  Southern,  were  some 
from  Virginia,  under  a  Major  Leitch ;  others  from  Maryland, 
under  Colonel  Smallwood ;  others  from  Delaware,  led  by  Col- 
onel Haslet.  There  were  four  continental  battalions  from 
Pennsylvania,  commanded  by  Colonels  Shee,  St.  Clair,  Wayne, 
and  Magaw;  and  provincial  battalions,  two  of  which  were 
severally  commanded  by  Colonels  Miles  and  Atlee.  The  conti- 
nental battalion  under  Colonel  Shee,  was  chiefly  from  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  especially  the  officers ;  among  whom  were  Lam- 
bert Cadwalader  and  William  Allen,  members  of  two  of  the 
principal  and  most  aristocratic  families,  and  Alexander  Gray- 
don,  to  whose  memoirs  we  are  indebted  for  some  graphic  pictures 
of  the  times. 

These  Pennsylvania  troops  were  under  the  command  of  Briga- 
dier-general Mifflin,  who,  in  the  preceding  year,  had  acted  as 
Washington's  aide-de-camp,  and  afterwards  as  quartermaster- 
general.  His  townsman  and  intimate,  Graydon,  characterizes 
him  as  a  man  of  education  and  cultivated  manners,  with  a  great 
talent  at  haranguing ;  highly  animated  in  his  appearance,  full 
of  activity  and  apparently  of  fire ;  but  rather  too  much  of  a 
bustler,  harassing  his  men  unnecessarily.  "  He  assumed,"  adds 
Graydon,  "a  little  of  the  veteran,  from  having  been  before 

*Life  of  Eeed,  vol.  i.  p.  239. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  475 

Boston/'  His  troops  were  chiefly  encamped  near  King's  Bridge, 
and  employed  in  constructing  works  at  Fort  Washington. 

Smallwood's  Maryland  battalioa  was  one  of  the  brightest  in 
point  of  equipment.  The  scarlet  and  buff  uniforms  of  those 
Southerners  contrasted  vividly  with  the  rustic  attire  of  the  yeo- 
man battalions  from  the  East.  Their  officers,  too,  looked  down 
upon  their  Connecticut  compeers,  who  could  only  be  distin- 
guished from  their  men  by  wearing  a  cockade.  "  There  were 
]ione,"  says  Graydon,  "  by  whom  an  unofficer-like  appearance 
and  deportment  could  be  tolerated  less  than  by  a  city-bred 
Marylander;  who,  at  this  time,  was  distinguished  by  the  most 
fashionable  cut  coat,  the  most  fnacaroni  cocked-hat,  and  hottest 
blood  in  the  Union."  Alas,  for  the  homespun-clad  officers  from 
Connecticut  E/iver. 

The  Pennsylvania  regiment  under  Shee,  according  to  Gray- 
don, promoted  balls  and  other  entertainments,  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  fast-days  and  sermons  borrowed  from  New  England. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  puritanical  spirit  among  the  Pennsyl- 
vania soldiery. 

In  the  same  sectional  spirit,  he  speaks  of  the  Connecticut 
light-horse :  "  Old-fashioned  men,  truly  irregulars ;  whether 
their  clothing,  equipments,  or  caparisons  were  regarded,  it 
would  have  been  difficult"  to  have  discovered  any  circumstance 
of  uniformity.  Instead  of  carbines  and  sabres,  they  generally 
carried  fowling-pieces,  some  of  them  very  long,  such  as  in 
Pennsylvania  are  used  for  shooting  ducks.  Here  and  there 
one  appeared  in  a  dingy  regimental  of  scarlet,  with  a  triangular, 
tarnislied,  laced  hat.  These  singular  dragoons  were  volunteers, 
who  came  to  make  a  tender  of  their  services  to  the  commander- 
in-chief.  But  they  stayed  not  long  in  New  York.  As  such  a 
body  of  cavalry  had  not  been  counted  upon,  there  was  in  all 
probability  a  want  of  forage  for  their  jades,  which,  in  the  spirit 
of  ancient  knighthood,  thej'-  absolutely  refused  to  descend  from  j 
and  as  the  general  had  no  use  for  cavaliers  in  his  insular  oper- 
ations, they  were  forthwith  dismissed,  with  suitable  acknowledg- 
ments for  their  truly  chivalrous  ardor."  * 

The  troops  thus  satirized,  were  a  body  of  between  four  and 
five  hundred  Connecticut  light-horse,  under  Colonel  Thomas 
Seymour.  On  an  appeal  for  aid  to  the  governor  of  their  State, 
they  had  voluntarily  hastened  on  in  advance  of  the  militia,  to 
render  the  most  speedy  succor.  Supposing,  from  the  sudden- 
ness and  urgency  of  the  call  upon  their  services,  that  they  were 
immediately  to  be  called  into  action  and  promptly  to  return 

^  Graydon' s  Memoirs,  p.  155. 


476  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

home,  they  had  come  off  in  such  haste,  that  many  were  unpro' 
vided  even  with  a  blanket  or  a  change  of  clothing. 

Washington  speaks  of  them  as  being  for  the  most  part, 
if  not  ajl,  men  of  reputation  and  property.  They  were,  in  fact, 
mostly  farmers.  As  to  their  sorry  jades,  they  were  rough  coun- 
try horses,  such  as  farmers  keep,  not  for  show,  but  service.  As 
to  their  dingy  regimentals,  we  quote  a  word  in  their  favor  from 
a  writer  of  that  day.  "  Some  of  these  worthy  soldiers  assisted 
in  their  present  uniforms  at  the  reduction  of  Louisburg,  and 
their  ^  lank  cheeks  and  war-worn  coats'  are  viewed  with  more 
veneration  by  their  honest  countrymen,  than  if  they  were  glit- 
tering nabobs  from  India,  or  bashaws  with  nine  tails.''  * 

On  arriving,  their  horses,  from  scarcity  of  forage,  had  to  be 
pastured  about  King's  Bridge.  In  fact  Washington  informed 
them  that,  under  present  circumstances,  they  could  not  be  of 
use  as  horsemen  ;  on  which  they  concluded  to  stay,  and  do 
duty  on  foot  till  the  arrival  of  the  new  levies.f  In  a  letter  to 
Governor  Trumbull  (July  11),  Washington  observes :  "  The 
officers  and  men  of  that  corps  have  manifested  so  firm  an  at- 
tachment to  the  cause  we  are  engaged  in,  that  they  have  con- 
sented to  remain  here,  till  such  a  body  of  troops  are  marched 
from  your  colony  as  will  be  a  sufficient  reinforcement,  so  as  to 
admit  of  their  leaving  this  city  with  safety.  ....  They 
have  the  additional  merit  of  determining  to  stay,  even  if  they 
are  obliged  to  maintain  their  horses  at  their  own  expense."  t 

In  a  very  few  days,  however,  the  troopers  on  being  requested 
to  mount  guard  like  other  soldiers,  grew  restless  and  uneasy. 
Colonel  Seymour  and  his  brother  field-officers,  therefore,  ad- 
dressed a  note  to  Washington,  stating  that,  by  the  positive 
laws  of  Connecticut,  the  light  horse  were  expressly  exempted 
from  staying  in  garrison,  or  doing  duty  on  foot,  apart  from  their 
horses  ;  and  that  they  found  it  impossible  to  detain  their  men 
any  longer  under  that  idea,  they  having  come  "  without  the 
least  expectation  or  preparation  for  such  services."  They  re- 
spectfully, therefore,  asked  a  dismission  in  form.  Washington's 
brief  reply  shows  that  he  was  nettled  by  their  conduct. 

"  Gentlemen, — In  answer  to  yours  of  this  date,  I  can  only 
repeat  to  you  what  I  said  last  night,  and  that  is,  that  if  your 
men  think  themselves  exempt  from  the  common  duty  of  a 
soldier — will  not  mount  guard,  do  garrison  duty,  or  service 
separate  from  their  horses — they  can  no  longer  be  of  any  use 

*  Am.  Archives,  5tli  Series,  i.  175. 

+  Webb  to  Gov.  Trumbull. 

I  Am.  Archives,  5tlx  Series,  i,  192. 


^LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  irj"; 

here,  where   horses  cannot  be  brought  to  action,  and  I  do  not 
care  how  soon  they  are  dismissed." 

In  fact,  the  assistance  of  these  troops  was  much  needed ; 
yet  he  apprehended  the  exemption  from  fatigue  and  garrison 
duty  which  they  demanded  as  a  right,  would,  if  granted,  set 
a  dangerous  example  to  others,  and  be  productive  of  many  evil 
consequences. 

In  the  hurry  of  various  concerns,  he  directed  his  aide-de- 
camp. Colonel  Webb,  to  write  in  his  name  to  Governor  Trum- 
bull on  the  subject. 

Colonel  Seymour,  on  his  return  home,  addressed  a  long  letter 
to  the  governor  explanatory  of  his  conduct.  "  I  can't  help  re- 
marking to  your  Honor,"  adds  he,  "  that  it  may  with  truth  be 
said.  General  Washington  is  a  gentleman  of  extreme  care  and 
caution ;  that  his  requisitions  for  men  are  fully  equal  to  the 
necessities  of  the  case.  .  •  .  .  .  I  should  have  stopped 
here,  but  am  this  moment  informed  that  Mr.  Webb,  General 
Washington's  aide-de-camp,  has  written  to  your  Honor  some- 
thing dishonorable  to  the  light-horse.  Whatever  it  may  be  I 
know  not,  but  this  I  do  know,  that  it  is  a  general  observation 
both  in  camp  and  countrj'-,  if  the  butterflies  and  coxcombs  were 
away  from  the  army,  we  should  not  be  put  to  so  much  difficulty 
in  obtaining  men  of  common  sense  to  engage  in  the  defense  of 
their  country."  * 

As  to  the  Connecticut  infantry  which  had  been  furnished 
by  Governor  Trumbull  in  the  present  emergency,  they  likewise 
were  substantial  farmers,  whose  business,  he  observed,  would 
require  their  return,  when  the  necessity  of  their  further  stay 
in  the  army  should  be  over.  They  were  all  men  of  simple 
rural  manners,  from  an  agricultural  State,  where  great  equality 
of  condition  prevailed ;  the  officers  were  elected  by  the  men 
out  of  their  own  ranks,  they  were  their  own  neighbors,  and 
every  way  their  equals.  All  this,  as  yet,  was  but  little  under- 
stood or  appreciated  by  the  troops  from  the  South,  among 
whom  military  rank  was  more  defined  and  tenaciously  observed, 
and  where  the  officers  were  men  of  the  cities,  and  of  aristocratic 
habits. 

We  have  drawn  out  from  contemporary  sources  these  few 
particulars  concerning  the  sectional  jealousies  thus  early  spring- 
ing up  among  the  troops  from  the  different  States,  to  show  the 
difficulties  with  which  Washington  had  to  contend  at  the  out- 
set, and  which  formed  a  growing  object  of  solicitude  throughout 
the  rest  of  his  career. 

*  Am.  Archives,  5th  SerieSj  i.  513, 


478  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

John  Adams,  speaking  of  the  violent  passions,  and  discord- 
ant interests  at  work  throughout  the  country,  from  Florida  to 
Canada,  observes  :  "  It  requires  more  serenity  of  temper,  a 
deeper  understanding,  and  more  courage  than  fell  to  the  lot  of 
Marlborough,  to  ride,  in  this  whirlwind."  * 


CHAPTER  LXXI. 

SOUTHERN    CRUISE  OF    SIR    HENRY    CLINTON. FORTIFICATIONS 

AT      CHARLESTON.— ARRIVAL     THERE     OF     GENERAL     LEE. 

BATTLE  AT  SULLIVAn's    ISLAND. WASHINGTON    ANNOUNCES 

THE  RESULT  TO  THE  ARMY. 

Letters  from  General  Lee  gave  Washington  intelligence  of 
the  fate  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  expedition  to  the  South ;  that 
expedition  which  had  been  the  subject  of  so  much  surmise  and 
perplexity.  Sir  Henry  in  his  cruise  along  the  coast  had  been 
repeatedly  foiled  by  Lee.  First  as  we  have  shown,  when  he 
looked  in  at  New  York  ;  next  when  he  paused  at  Norfolk  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  and  lastly,  when  he  made  a  bold  attempt  at  Charleston 
in  South  Carolina;  for  scarce  did  his  ships  appear  off  the  bar 
of  harbor,  than  the  omnipresent  Lee  was  marching  his  troops 
into  the  city. 

Within  a  year  past,  Charleston  had  been  fortified  at  various 
points.  Fort  Johnson,  on  James  Island,  three  miles  from  the 
city,  and  commanding  the  breadth  of  the  channel,  was  garrisoned 
by  a  regiment  of  South  Carolina  regulars  under  Colonel  Gads- 
den. A  strong  fort  had  recently  been  constructed  nearly  op- 
posite, on  the  southwest  point  of  Sullivan's  Island,  about  six 
miles  below  the  city.  It  was  mounted  with  twenty-six  guns, 
and  garrisoned  by  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  regulars  and 
a  few  militia,  and  commanded  by  Colonel  William  Moultrie 
of  South  Carolina,  who  had  constructed  it.  This  fort,  in  con- 
nection with  that  on  James  Island,  was  considered  the  key  of 
the  harbor. 

Cannon  had  also  been  mounted  on  Haddrell's  Point  on  the 
mainland,  to  the  northwest  of  Sullivan's  Island,  and  along  the 
bay  in  front  of  the  town. 

The  arrival  of  General  Lee  gave  great  joy  to  the  people  of 
Charleston,  from  his  high  reputation  for  military  skill  and  e:^- 
*■  Am-  Archives,  4th  Series,  v.  1112. 


■LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON-.  479 

perlence.  According  to  his  own  account  in  a  letter  to  Wash- 
ington, the  town  on  his  arrival  was  "  utterly  defenseless."  He 
was  rejoiced  therefore,  when  the  enemy,  instead  of  immediately 
attacking  it,  directed  his  whole  force  against  the  fort  on  Sul- 
livan's Island.  "  He  has  lost  an  opportunity,''  said  Lee,  "  such 
as  I  hope  will  never  occur  again,  of  taking  the  town." 

Tlie  British  ships,  in  fact,  having  passed  the  bar  with  some 
difficulty,  landed  their  troops  on  Long  Island,  situated  to  the 
east  of  Sullivan's  Island,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  small  creek 
called  the  Breach.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  meditated  a  combined 
attack  with  his  land  and  naval  forces  on  the  fort  commanded  by 
Moultrie ;  the  capture  of  which,  he  thought,  would  insure  the 
reduction  of  Charleston. 

The  Americans  immediately  threw  up  works  on  the  north- 
eastern extremity  of  Sullivan's  Island,  to  prevent  the  passage 
of  the  enemy  over  the  Breach,  stationing  a  force  of  regulars 
and  militia  there,  under  Colonel  Thompson.  General  Lee  en- 
camped on  Haddrell's  Point,  on  the  mainland,  to  the  north  of 
the  island,  whence  he  intended  to  keep  up  a  communication  by 
a  bridge  of  boats,  so  as  to  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  aid  either 
Moultrie  or  Thompson. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton,  on  the  other  hand,  had  to  construct  bat- 
teries on  Long  Island,  to  oppose  those  of  Thompson,  and  cover 
the  passage  of  his  troops  by  boats  or  by  the  ford.  Thus  time 
was  consumed,  and  the  enemy  were,  from  the  1st  to  the  28th  of 
June,  preparing  for  the  attack;  their  troops  suffering  from  the 
intense  heat  of  the  sun  on  the  burning  sands  of  Long  Island, 
and  both  fleet  and  army  complaining  of  brackish  water  and 
scanty  and  bad  provisions. 

At  length  on  the  28th  of  June,  the  Thunder  Bomb  commenced 
the  attack,  throwing  shells  at  the  fort  as  the  fleet,  under  Sir 
Peter  Parker,  advanced.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  ships  drop- 
ped their  anchors  directly  before  the  front  battery.  "  I  was  at 
this  time  in  a  boat,"  writes  Lee,  "  endeavoring  to  make  the 
island  ;  but  the  wind  and  tide  being  violently  against  us,  drove 
us  on  the  main.  They  immediately  commenced  the  most  furi- 
ous fire  I  ever  heard  or  saw.  I  confess  I  was  in  pain,  from  the 
little  confidence  I  reposed  in  our  troops ;  the  officers  being  all 
boys,  and  the  men  raw  recruits.  What  augmented  my  anxiety 
was,  that  we  had  no  bridge  finished  for  retreat  or  communica- 
tion ;  and  the  creek  or  cove  which  separates  it  from  the  conti- 
nent is  near  a  mile  wide.  I  had  received,  likewise,  intelligence 
that  their  land  troops  intended  at  the  same  time  to  land  and 
assault,  y  I  never  in  my  life  felt  myself  so  uneasy  ;  and  what 
added  to  my  uneasiness  was,  that  I  knew  our  stock  of  ammuni- 


480  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

tion  was  miserably  low.  I  had  once  thouglit  of  ordering  the 
commanding  officer  to  spike  his  guns,  and,  when  his  ammuni- 
tion was  spent,  to  retreat  with  as  little  loss  as  possible.  How- 
ever, I  thought  proper  jireviously  to  send  to  town  for  a  fresh 
supply,  if  it  could  possibly  be  procured,  and  ordered  my  aide-de- 
camp, Mr.  Byrd  (who  is  a  lad  of  magnanimous  courage),  to  pass 
over  in  a  small  canoe,  and  report  the  state  of  the  spirit  of  the 
garrison.  If  it  had  been  low,  I  should  have  abandoned  all 
thoughts  of  defense.  His  report  was  flattering.  I  then  deter- 
mined to  maintain  the  post  at  all  risks,  and  passed  the  creek  or 
cove  in  a  small  boat,  in  order  to  animate  the  garrison  in  pro- 
pria persona  ;  but  I  found  they  had  no  occasion  for  such  an 
encouragement. 

"  They  were  pleased  with  my  visit,  and  assured  me  they 
never  would  abandon  the  post  but  with  their  lives.  The  cool 
courage  they  displayed  astonished  and  enraptured  me,  for  I  do 
assure  you^  my  dear  general,  I  never  experienced  a  better  fire. 
Twelve  full  hours  it  was  continued  without  intermission.  The 
noble  fellows  who  were  mortally  wounded,  conjured  their 
brethren  never  to  abandon  the  standard  of  liberty.  Those  who 
lost  their  limbs  deserted  not  their  posts.  Upon  the  whole,  they 
acted  like  Romans  in  the  third  century." 

Much  of  the  foregoing  is  corroborated  by  the  statement  of  a 
British  historian.  "  While  the  continued  fire  of  our  ships,'^ 
writes  he,"  seemed  sufficient  to  shake  the  fierceness  of  the 
bravest  enemy,  and  daunt  the  courage  of  the  most  veteran 
soldier,  the  return  made  by  the  fort  could  not  fail  calling  for 
the  respect,  as  well  as  of  highly  incommoding  the  brave  seamen 
of  Britain.  In  the  midst  of  that  dreadful  roar  of  artillery,  they 
stuck  with  the  greatest  constancy  and  firmness  to  their  guns  ; 
fired  deliberately  and  slowly,  and  took  a  cool  and  effective  aim. 
The  ships  suffered  accordingly  ;  they  were  torn  almost  to  pieces, 
and  the  slaughter  was  dreadful.  Never  did  British  valor  shine 
more  conspicuous,  and  never  did  our  marine  in  an  engagement 
of  the  same  nature  with  any  foreign  enemy  experience  so  rude 
an  encounter."  * 

The  fire  from  the  ships  did  not  produce  the  expected  effect. 
The  fortifications  were  low,  composed  of  earth  and  -  palmetto 
wood,  which  is  soft,  and  makes  no  splinters,  and  the  merlons 
were  extremely  thick.  At  one  time  there  was  a  considerable 
pause  in  the  American  fire,  and  the  enemy  thought  the  fort  was 
abandoned.  .It  was  only  because  the  powder  was  exhausted. 
As  soon  as  a  supply  could  be  forwarded  from  the  mainland  by 

*  Hist.  Civil  War  in  America,  Dublin,  1779.  Annual  Register 


LtFB  OF  WASHINGTON.  481 

General  Lee,  the  fort  resumed  its  fire  with  still  more  deadly 
effect.  Through  unskillful  pilotage,  several  of  the  ships  ran 
aground,  where  one,  the  frigate  Actceon,  remained ;  the  rest 
were  extricated  with  difficulty.  Those  which  bore  the  brunt 
of  the  action  were  much  cut  up.  One  hundred  and  seventy-five 
men  were  killed,  and  nearly  as  many  wounded.  Captain  Scott, 
commanding  the  Experiment,  of  fifty  guns,  lost  an  arm,  and 
was  otherwise  wounded*  Captain  Morris,  commanding  the 
Actceoriy  was  slain.  So  also  was  Lord  Campbell,  late  governor 
of  the  province,  who  served  as  a  volunteer  on  board  of  the 
squadron. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  two  thousand  troops  and  five  or  six 
hundred  seamen,  attempted  repeatedly  to  cross  from  Long 
Island,  and  cooperate  in  the  attack  upon  the  fort,  but  was  as 
often  foiled  by  Colonel  Thompson,  with  his  battery  of  two  can- 
nons, and  a  body  of  South  Carolina  rangers  and  North  Car- 
olina regulars.  "  Upon  the  whole,"  says  Lee,  "  the  South  and 
North  Carolina  troops  and  Virginia  rifle  battalion  we  have  here, 
are  admirable  soldiers.'^ 

The  combat  slackened  before  sunset,  and  ceased  before  ten 
o'clock.  Sir  Peter  Parker,  who  had  received  a  severe  contusion 
in  the  engagement,  then  slipped  his  cables,  and  drew  off  his 
shattered  ships  to  Five  Pathom  Hole.  The  Actceon  remained 
aground. 

On  the  following  morning  Sir  Henry  Clinton  made  another 
attempt  to  cross  from  Long  Island  to  Sullivan's  Island  ;  but 
was  again  repulsed,  and  obliged  to  take  shelter  behind  his 
breastworks.  Sir  Peter  Parker,  too,  giving  up  all  hope  of  re- 
ducing the  fort  in  the  shattered  condition  of  his  ships,  ordered 
that  the  Actmon  should  be  set  on  fire  and  abandoned.  The 
crew  left  her  in  flames,  with  the  guns  loaded,  and  the  colore 
flying.  The  Americans  boarded  her  in  time  to  haul  down  her 
colors,  and  secure  them  as  a  trophy,  discharge  her  guns  at  one 
of  the  enemy's  ships,  and  load  three  boats  with  stores.  They 
then  abandoned  her  to  her  fate,  and  in  half  an  hour  she  blew  up. 

Within  a  few  days  the  troops  were  reembarked  from  Long 
Islands ;  the  attempt  upon  Charleston  was  for  the  present 
abandoned,  and  the  fleet  once  more  put  to  sea. 

In  this  action,  one  of  the  severest  in  the  whole  course  of  the 
war,  the  loss  of  the  Americans  in  killed  and  wounded,  was  but 
thirty-five  men.  Colonel  Moultrie  derived  the  greatest  glory 
from  the  defense  of  Sullivan's  Island  ;  though  the  thanks  of 
Congress  w^ere  voted  as  well  to  General  Lee,  Colonel  Thompson, 
and  those  under  their  command. 

'f  For  God's  sake,  my  dear  generay^  writes  Lee  to  Washing- 


4$2  l^IFE  OF  WASHINGTOX. 

ton,  "  urge  the  Congress  to  furnish  me  with  a  thousand  cavah-y. 
With  a  thousand  cavalry  I  could  insure  the  safety  of  these 
Southern  provinces  ;  and  without  cavalry,  I  can  answer  for 
nothing.  From  want  of  this  species  of  troops  we  had  infalli- 
bly  lost  this  capital,  but  the  dilatoriness  and  stupidity  of  the 
enemy  saved  us." 

The  tidings  of  this  signal  repulse  of  the  enemy  came  most 
opportunely  to  Washington,  when  he  was  apprehending  an  at- 
tack upon  New  York.  He  writes  in  a  familiar  vein  to  Schuyler 
on  the  subject.  '^  Sir  Peter  Parker  and  his  fleet  got  a  severe 
drubbing  in  an  attack  upon  our  works  on  Sullivan's  Island,  just 
by  Charleston  in  South  Carolina  ;  a  part  of  their  troops,  at  the 
same  time,  in  attempting  to  land,  were  repulsed."  He  assumed 
a  different  tone  in  announcing  it  to  the  army  in  a  general 
order  of  the  21st  July.  "  This  generous  example  of  our  troops 
under  the  like  circumstances  with  us,  the  general  hopes,  will 
animate  every  officer  and  soldier  to  imitate,  and  even  outdo  them, 
when  the  enemy  shall  make  the  same  attempt  on  us.  With 
such  a  bright  example  before  us  of  what  can  be  done  by  brave 
men  fighting  in  defense  of  their  country,  we  shall  be  loaded 
with  a  double  share  of  shame  and  infamy  if  we  do  not  acquit 
ourselves  with  courage,  and  manifest  a  determined  resolution 
to  conquer  or  die." 


CHAPTEE  LXXII. 

I^UTNAm's  military    projects. CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE    AT  FORT 

WASHINGTON. MEDITATED    ATTACK    ON    STATEN  ISLAND. 

ARRIVAL    OP    SHIPS. HESSIAN     REINFORCEMENTS. SCOTCH 

'       HIGHLANDERS. SIR    HENRY  CLINT^ON    AND   LORD  CORNWAL- 

Lis. — Putnam's  obstructions  of  the  Hudson. — the  "  phce- 

NIX  "  AND  "  rose  "  ATTACKED  BY    ROW  GALLEYS  AT  TARRY- 
TOWN. GENERAL    ORDER  OF  WASHINGTON  ON  THE    SUBJECT 

OF  SECTIONAL  JEALOUSIES. PROFANE  SWEARING  PROHIBIT- 
ED IN  THE  CAMP. PREPARATIONS  AGAINST  ATTACK. LEVIES 

OF     YEOMANRY. GEORGE     CLINTON     IN     COMMAND     OF     THE 

LEVIES  ALONG    THE    HUDSON. ALARMS  OF    THE    PEOPLE    OF 

NEW    YORK. — BENEVOLENT     SYMPATHY    OF    WASHINGTON. 

THE     "  PHGENIX "     GRAPPLED     BY   A    FIRE-SHIP. THE    SHIPS 

EVACUATE  THE  HUDSON. 

General  Putnam,  beside  his  bravery  in  the  field,  was 
somewhat  of  a  mechanical  projector.  The  batteries  at  Fort 
Washington  had  Droved  ineffectual  in  opposing  the  passage  of 


LIFE  OF  WASHtNGTOn.  483 

hostile  ships  up  the  Hudson.  He  was  now  engaged  on  a  plan 
for  obstructing  the  channel  opposite  the  fort,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  passing  of  any  more  ships.  A  letter  from  him  to  General 
Gates  (July  26th)  explains  his  project.  "We  are  preparing 
chevaux-de-frise,  at  which  we  make  great  despatch  by  the  help 
of  ships,  which  are  to  be  sunk — a  scheme  of  mine  which  you 
may  be  assured  is  very  simple ;  a  plan  of  which  I  send  you. 
The  two  ships'  sterns  lie  towards  each  other,  about  seventy  feet 
apart.  Three  large  logs,  which  reach  from  ship  to  ship,  are 
fastened  to  them.  The  two  ships  and  logs  stop  the  river  two 
hundred  and  eighty  feet.  The  ships  are  to  be  sunk,  and 
when  hauled  down  on  one  side,  the  pricks  will  be  raised  to  a 
proper  height,  and  they  must  inevitably  stop  the  river,  if  the 
enemy  will  let  us  sink  them." 

It  so  happened  that  one  Ephraim  Anderson,  adjutant  to  the 
second  Jersey  battalion,  had  recently  submitted  a  project  to 
Congress  for  destroying  the  enemy's  fleet  in  the  harbor  of  New 
York.  He  had  attempted  an  enterprise  of  the  kind  against 
the  British  ships  in  the  harbor  of  Quebec  during  the  siege,  and 
according  to  his  own  account,  would  have  succeeded,  had  not 
the  enemy  discovered  his  intentions,  and  stretched  a  cable  across 
the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  had  he  not  accidentally  been  much 
burnt. 

His  scheme  was  favorably  entertained  by  Congress,  and 
Washington,  by  a  letter  dated  July  10th,  was  instructed  to  aid 
him  in  carrying  it  into  effect.  Anderson,  accordingly,  was  soon 
at  work  at  New  York  constructing  fire-ships,  with  which  the 
fleet  was  to  be  attacked.  Simultaneous  with  the  attack,  a  descent 
was  to  be  made  on  the  British  camp  on  Staten  Island,  from  the 
nearest  point  of  the  Jersey  shore,  by  troops  from  Mercer's  fly- 
ing camp,  and  by  others  stationed  at  Bergen  under  Major 
Knowlton,  Putnam's  favorite  officer  for  daring  enterprises. 

Putnam  entered  into  the  scheme  as  zealously  as  if  it  had  been 
his  own.  Indeed,  by  the  tenor  of  his  letter  to  Gates,  already 
quoted,  he  seemed  almost  to  consider  it  so.  "  The  enemy's 
fleet,"  writes  he,  "  now  lies  in  the  bay,  close  under  Staten 
Island.  Their  troops  possess  no  land  here  but  the  Island. 
Is  it  not  strange  that  those  invincible  troops,  who  were  to 
lay  waste  all  this  country  with  their  fleets  and  army,  are  so 
fond  of  islands  and  peninsulas,  and  dare  not  put  their  feet 
on  the  main  ?  But  I  hope,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  and  good 
friends,  we  shall  pay  them  a  visit  on  their  island.  For  that 
end  we  are  preparing  fourteen  fire-ships  to  go  into  their  fleet, 
some  of  which  are  ready  charged  and  fitted  to  sail,  and  I  hope 
soon  to  have  them  all  fixed." 


484  LIFE  OF  WASnmaTO]^. 

Anderson,  also,  on  the  31st  July,  writes  ^rom  Kew  York  to 
the  President  of  Congress :  "  I  have  heen  for  some  time  past 
very  assiduous  in  the  preparation  of  fire-ships.  Two  are  already 
complete,  and  hauled  off  into  the  stream  ;  two  more  will  be  off 
to-morrow,  and  the  residue  in  a  very  short  time.  In  my  next, 
I  hope  to  give  you  a  particular  account  of  a  general  conflagra- 
tion, as  everj^thing  in  my  power  shall  be  exerted  for  the  demo- 
lition of  the  enemy's  fleet.  I  expect  to  take  an  active  part, 
and  be  an  instrument  for  that  purpose.  I  am  determined  (God 
willing)  to  make  a  conspicuous  figure  among  them,  by  being  a 
'  burning  and  shining  light,'  and  thereby  serve  my  country, 
and  have  the  honor  of  meeting  the  approbation  of  Congress."  * 

Projectors  are  subject  to  disappointments.  It  was  impossible 
to  construct  a  suflicient  number  of  fire-ships  and  galleys  in  time. 
The  flying  camp,  too,  recruited  but  slowly,  and  scarcely  ex- 
ceeded three  thousand  men  ;  the  combined  attack  by  fire  and 
sword  had  therefore  to  be  given  up,  and  the  "  burning  and 
shining  light "  again  failed  of  conflagration. 

Still,  a  partial  night  attack  on  the  Staten  Island  encampment 
was  concerted  by  Mercer  and  Knowlton,  and  twice  attempted. 
On  one  occasion,  they  were  prevented  from  crossing  the  strait 
by  tempestuous  weather,  on  another  by  deficiency  of  boats. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  arrived  a  hundred  sail,  with  large 
reinforcements,  among  which  were  one  thousand  Hessians,  and 
as  many  more  were  reported  to  be  on  the  way.  The  troops 
were  disembarked  on  Staten  Island,  and  fortifications  thrown 
up  on  some  of  the  most  commanding  hills. 

All  projects  of  attack  upon  the  enemy  were  now  out  of  the 
question.  Indeed,  some  of  Washington's  ablest  advisers  ques- 
tioned the  policy  of  remaining  in  New  York,  where  they  might 
be  entrapped  as  the  British  had  been  in  Boston.  Keed,  the 
adjutant-general,  observed  that,  as  the  communication  by  the 
Hudson  was  interrupted,  there  was  nothing  now  to  keep  them 
at  New  York  but  a  mere  point  of  honor  ;  in  the  meantime,  they 
endangered  the  loss  of  the  army  and  its  military  stores.  Why 
should  they  risk  so  much  in  defending  a  city,  while  the  greater 
part  of  its  inhabitants  were  plotting  their  destruction  ?  His 
advice  was,  that,  when  they  could  defend  the  city  no  longer, 
they  should  evacuate,  and  burn  it,  and  retire  from  Manhattan 
Island  ;  should  avoid  any  general  action,  or  indeed  any  action, 
unless  in  view  of  great  advantages  ;  and  should  make  it  a  war 
of  posts. 

During  the  latter  part  of  July,  and  the  early  part  of  August, 
ships  of  war  with  their  tenders  continued  to  arrive,  and  Scotch 
*  Am.  Archives,  5th  Series,  i.  155. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  485 

Highlanders,  Hessians,  and  other  troops  to  be  landed  on  Staten 
Island.  At  the  beginning  of  August,  the  squadron  with  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  recently  repulsed  at  Charleston,  anchored  in 
the  bay.  "  His  coming,"  writes  Colonel  Eeed,  ""was  as  unex- 
pected as  if  he  had  dropped  from  the  clouds."  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  brought  three  thousand  troops. 

In  the  meantime,  Putnam's  contrivances  for  obstructing  the 
channel  had  reached  their  destined  place.  A  letter  dated  Fort 
Washington,  August  3d,  says  :  "Four  ships  chained  and  boomed, 
with  a  number  of  amazing  large  chevaux-de-frise,  were  sunk 
close  by  the  fort  under  command  of  General  Mifflin,  which  fort 
mounts  thirty-two  pieces  of  heavy  cannon.  We  are  thoroughly 
sanguine  that  they  [the  ships  up  the  river]  never  will  be  able 
to  join  the  British  fleet,  nor  assistance  from  the  fleet  be  afforded 
to  them ;  so  that  we  may  set  them  down  as  our  own." 

Another  letter,  written  at  the  same  date  from  Tarry  town,  on 
the  borders  of  the  Tappan  Sea,  gives  an  account  of  an  attack 
made  by  six  row  galleys  upon  the  Phoenix  and  the  Hose.  They 
fought  bravely  for  two  hours,  hulling  the  ships  repeatedly,  but 
sustaining  great  damage  in  return;  until  their  commodore, 
Colonel  Tupper,  gave  the  signal  to  draw  off.  "  Never,"  says 
the  writer,  "  did  men  behave  with  more  firm,  determined  spirit, 
than  our  little  crews.  One  of  our  tars  being  mortally  wounded, 
cried  to  his  companions :  ^  I  am  a  dying  man ;  revenge  my 
blood,  my  boys,  and  carry  me  alongside  my  gun,  that  I  may  die 
there.'  We  were  so  preserved  by  a  gracious  Providence,  that 
in  all  our  galleys  we  had  but  two  men  killed  and  fourteen 
wounded,  two  of  which  are  thought  dangerous.  We  hope  to 
have  another  touch  at  those  pirates  before  they  leave  our  river ; 
which  God  prosper  !  " 

Such  was  the  belligerent  spirit  prevailing  up  the  Hudson. 

The  force  of  the  enemy  collected  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kew 
York  was  about  thirty  thousand  men  ;  that  of  the  Americans  a 
little  more  than  seventeen  thousand,  but  was  subsequently  in- 
creased to  twenty  thousand,  for  the  most  part  raw  and  undis- 
ciplined. One  fourth  were  on  the  sick-list  with  bilious  and 
putrid  fevers  and  dysentery  ;  others  w.ere  absent  on  furlough  or 
command ;  the  rest  had  to  be  distributed  over  posts  and  sta- 
tions fifteen  miles  apart. 

The  sectional  jealousies  prevalent  among  them  were  more 
and  more  a  subject  of  uneasiness  to  Washington.  In  one  of 
his  general  orders  he  observes  :  "  It  is  with  great  concern  that 
the  general  understands  that  jealousies  have  arisen  among  the 
troops  from  the  different  provinces,  and  reflections  are  fre- 
quently thrown  out  which  can  only  tend  to  irritate  each  other, 


486  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  injure  the  noble  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged,  and  which 
we  ought  to  support  with  one  hand  and  one  heart.  The  general 
most  earnestly  entreats  the  officers  and  soldiers  to  consider  the 
consequences  ;  that  they  can  no  way  assist  our  enemies  more 
effectually  than  by  making  divisions  among  ourselves ;  that  the 
honor  and  success  of  the  army,  and  the  safety  of  our  bleeding 
country,  depend  upon  harmony  and  good  agreement  with  each 
other ;  that  the  provinces  are  all  united  to  oppose  the  common 
enemy,  and  all  distinctions  sunk  in  the  name  of  an  American. 
To  make  this  name  honorable,  and  to  preserve  the  liberty  of 
our  country,  ought  to  be  our  only  emulation ;  and  he  will  be  the 
best  soldier  and  the  best  patriot,  who  contributes  most  to  this 
glorious  work,  whatever  be  his  station,  or  from  whatever  part  of 
the  continent  he  may  come.  Let  all  distinction  of  nations, 
countries,  and  provinces,  therefore,  be  lost  in  the  generous  con- 
test, who  shall  behave  with  the  most  courage  against  the  enemy, 
and  the  most  kindness  and  good-humor  to  each  other.  If  there 
be  any  officers  or  soldiers  so  lost  to  virtue  and  a  love  of  their 
country,  so  as  to  continue  in  such  practices  after  this  order, 
the  general  assures  them,  and  is  authorized  by  Congress  to  de- 
clare to  the  whole  army,  that  such  persons  shall  be  severely 
punished,  and  dismissed  from  the  service  with  disgrace." 

The  urgency  of  such  a  general  order  is  apparent  in  that  early 
period  of  our  confederation,  when  its  various  parts  had  not  as 
yet  been  sufficiently  welded  together  to  acquire  a  thorough  feel- 
ing of  nationality;  yet  what  an  enduring  lesson  does  it 
furnish  for  every  stage  of  our  Union  ! 

We  subjoin  another  of  the  general  orders  issued  in  this  time 
of  gloom  and  anxiety : — 

"That  the  troops  may  have  an  opportunity  of  attending 
public  worship,  as  well  as  to  take  some  rest  after  the  great 
fatigue  they  have  gone  through,  the  general,  in  future,  excuses 
them  from  fatigue  duty  on  Sundays,  except  at  the  ship-yards, 
or  on  special  occasions,  until  further  orders.  The  general  is 
sorry  to  be  informed,  that  the  foolish  and  wicked  practice  of 
profane  cursing  and  swearing,  a  vice  heretofore  little  known  in 
an  American  army,  is  growing  into  fashion.  He  hopes  the 
officers  will,  by  example  as  well  as  influence,  endeavor  to  check 
it,  and  that  both  they  and  the  men  will  reflect,  that  we  can 
little  hope  of  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  our  arms,  if  we  insult 
it  by  our  impiety  and  folly.  Added  to  this,  it  is  a  vice  so  mean 
and  low,  without  any  temptation,  that  every  man  of  sense  and 
character  detests  and  despises  it."  * 

*  Orderly  Book,  Aug.  3,  as  cited  by  Sparks.  Writings  of  Washing- 
ton ,  vol.  iv.  p.  28. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  487 

While  Washington  thus  endeavored  to  elevate  the  minds  of 
his  soldiery  to  the  sanctity  of  the  cause  in  which  they  were 
engaged,  he  kept  the  most  watchful  eye  upon  the  movements  of 
the  enemy.  Besides  their  great  superiority  in  point  of  numbers 
as  well  as  discipline,  to  his  own  crude  and  scanty  legions,  they 
possessed  a  vast  advantage  in  their  fleet.  "  They  would  not  be 
half  the  enemy  they  are,"  observed  Colonel  Reed,  '^  if  they  were 
once  separated  from  their  ships."  Every  arrival  and  departure 
of  these,  therefore,  was  a  subject  of  speculation  and  conjecture. 
Aaron  Burr,  at  that  time  in  New  York,  aide-de-camp  to  General 
Putnam,  speaks  in  a  letter  to  an  uncle,  of  thirty  transports, 
which,  under  convoy  of  three  frigates,  had  put  to  sea  on  the 
7th  of  August,  with  the  intention  of  sailing  round  Long  Island 
and  coming  through  the  Sound,  and  thus  investing  the  city  by 
the  North  and  East  Rivers.  "  They  are  then  to  land  on  both 
sides  of  the  island,"  writes  he,  "join  their  forces,  and  draw  a 
line  across,  which  will  hem  us  in,  and  totally  cut  off  all  com- 
munication ;  after  which,  they  will  have  their  own  fun."  He 
adds  :  "  They  hold  us  in  the  utmost  contempt.  Talk  of  forcing 
all  our  lines  without  firing  a  gun.  The  bayonet  is  their  pride. 
They  have  forgot  Bunker's  Hill."  * 

In  this  emergency,  Washington  wrote  to  General  Mercer 
for  2,000  men  from  the  flying  camp.  Colonel  Smallwood's 
battalion  was  immediately  furnished,  as  a  part  of  them.  The 
Convention  of  the  State  ordered  out  hasty  levies  of  country 
militia,  to  form  temporary  camps  on  the  shore  of  the  Sound, 
and  on  that  of  the  Hudson  above  King's  Bridge,  to  annoy  the 
enemy,  should  they  attempt  to  land  from  their  ships  on  either 
of  these  waters.  Others  were  sent  to  reinforce  the  posts  on 
Long  Island.  As  King's  County  on  Long  Island  was  noted 
for  being  a  stronghold  of  the  disaffected,  the  Convention  ordered 
that,  should  any  of  the  militia  of  that  county  refuse  to  serve, 
they  should  be  disarmed  and  secured,  and  their  possessions  laid 
waste. 

Many  of  the  yeomen  of  the  country,  thus  hastily  summoned 
from  the  plough,  were  destitute  of  arms,  in  lieu  of  which  they 
were  ordered  to  bring  with  them  a  shovel,  spade,  or  pickaxe,  or 
a  scythe  straightened  and  fastened  to  a  pole.  This  rustic  array 
may  have  provoked  the  thoughtless  sneers  of  city  scoffers,  such 
as  those  cited  by  Graydon  ;  but  it  was  in  truth  one  of  the  glori- 
ous features  ef  the  Revolution,  to  be  thus  aided  in  its  emergen- 
cies by  "  hasty  levies  of  husbandmen."  * 

*  Am.  Archives,  5th  Series,  i.  188*7. 

t  General  orders,  Aug.  8th,  show  the  feverish  slate  of  affairs  in  the 
city.  "  As  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  intelliscence  by  deserters, 
give  the  utmost  reason  to  believe  that  the  great  struggle  irr  which  we  are 


488  J^IFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

By  the  authority  of  the  ISTew  York  Convention,  Washington 
had  appointed  General  George  Clinton  to  the  command  of  the 
levies  on  both  sides  of  the  Hudson.  He  now  ordered  him  to 
hasten  down  with  them  to  the  fort  just  erected  on  the  north 
side  of  King's  Bridge ;  leaving  two  hundred  men  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  brave  and  alert  officer  to  throw  up  works  at  the  pass 
of  Anthony's  Nose,  where  the  main  road  to  Albany  crosses 
that  mountain.  Troops  of  horse  also  were  to  be  posted  by  him 
along  the  river  to  watch  the  motions  of  the  enemy. 

Washington  now  made  the  last  solemn  preparations  for  the 
impending  conflict.  All  suspected  persons,  whose  presence 
might  promote  the  plans  of  the  enemy,  were  removed  to  a  dis- 
tance. All  papers  respecting  affairs  of  state  were  put  up  in  a 
large  case,  to  be  delivered  to  Congress.  As  to  his  domestic  ar- 
rangements, Mrs.  Washington  had  some  time  previously  gone 
to  Philadelphia,  with  the  intention  of  returning  to  Virginia,  as 
there  was  no  prospect  of  her  being  with  him  any  part  of  the 
summer,  which  threatened  to  be  one  of  turmoil  and  danger. 
The  other  ladies,  wives  of  general  officers,  who  used  to  grace 
and  enliven  head-quarters,  had  all  been  sent  out  of  the  way  of 
the  storm  which  was  lowering  over  this  devoted  city. 

Accounts  of  deserters,  and  other  intelligence,  informed 
Washington  on  the  17th,  that 'a  great  many  of  the  enemy's 
troops  had  gone  on  board  of  the  transports ;  that  three  days' 
provisions  had  been  cooked,  and  other  steps  taken  indicating 
an  intention  of  leaving  Staten  Island.  Putnam,  also,  came  up 
from  below  with  word  that  at  least  one  fourth  of  the  fleet  had 
sailed.  There  were  many  conjectures  at  head-quarters  as  to 
whither  they  were  bound,  or  whether  they  had  not  merely  shifted 
their  station.  Everything  indicated,  however,  that  affairs  were 
tending  to  a  crisis. 

The    "  hysterical    alarms  '^  of    the    peaceful  inhabitants  of 

contending  for  everything  dear  to  us  and  our  posterity  is  near  at  hand, 
the  general  most  earnestly  recommends  the  closest  attention  to  the  state 
of  the  men's  arms,  ammunition,  and  flints  ;  that  if  we  should  be  sud- 
denly called  to  action,  nothing  of  this  kind  may  be  to  provide.  And  he 
does  most  anxiously  exhort  both  officers  and  soldiers  not  to  be  out  of 
tlieir  quarters  or  encampments,  especially  in  the  morning  or  upon  the 
tide  of  flood. 

*'  A  flag  in  the  daytime,  or  a  light  at  night,  in  the  fort  on  Bayard's 
Hill,  with  three  guns  from  the  same  place  fired  quick  but  distinct,  is  to 
be  considered  as  a  signal  for  the  troops  to  repair  to  their  alarm  posts, 
and  prepare  for  action.  And  that  the  alarm  may  be  more  effectu- 
ally given,  the  drums  are  immediately  to  beat  to  arms  upon  the  signal 
being  given  from  Bayard's  Hill.  This  order  is  not  to  be  considered  as 
countermanding  the  firing  two  guns  at  Fort  George,as  formerly  ordered. 
That  is  also  to  be  done  on  an  alarm,  but  the  flag  will  not  be  hoisted  at 
the  pjd  he^d-quarters  in  Broadway."— 4??».  Ar(ihw.esy  5th  Series,  i,  912. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  '  489 

Kew  York,  which  had  provoked  the  soldierlike  impatience  and 
satirical  sneers  of  Lee,  inspired  different  sentiments  in  the 
benevolent  heart  of  Washington,  and  produced  the  following 
letter  to  the  New  York  Convention  : 

"  When  I  consider  that  the  city  of  New  York  will,  in  all  hu- 
man probability,  very  soon  be  the  scene  of  a  bloody  conflict,  I 
cannot  but  view  the  great  numbers  of  women,  children,  and  in- 
firm persons  remaining  in  it,  with  the  most  melancholy  con- 
cern. When  the  men-of-war  (the  Phoenix  and  Rose)  passed 
up  the  river,  the  shrieks  and  cries  of  these  poor  creatures,  run- 
ning every  way  with  their  children,  were  truly  distressing,  and 
I  fear  they  will  have  an  unhappy  effect  upon  the  ears  and  minds 
of  our  young  and  inexperienced  soldiery.  Can  no  method  be 
devised  for  their  removal  ?  '^ 

How  vividly  does  this  call  to  mind  the  compassionate  sensi- 
bility of  his  younger  days,  when  commanding  at  Winchester, 
in  Virginia,  in  time  of  public  peril ;  and  melted  to  "  deadly 
sorrow "  by  the  "  supplicating  tears  of  the  women,  and  mov- 
ing petitions  of  the  men."  As  then,  he  listened  to  the  prompt 
suggestions  of  his  own  heart ;  and,  without  awaiting  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Convention,  issued  a  proclamation,  advising  the  in- 
habitants to  remove,  and  requiring  the  officers  and  soldiery  to 
aid  the  helpless  and  the  indigent.  The  Convention  soon 
responded  to  his  appeal,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  effect 
these  purposes  in  the  most  humane  and  expeditious  manner. 

A  gallant  little  exploit  at  this  juncture,  gave  a  fillip  to  the 
spirits  of  the  community.  Two  of  the  fire-ships  recently  con- 
structed, went  up  the  Hudson  to  attempt  the  destruction  of 
the  ships  which  had  so  long  been  domineering  over  its  waters. 
One  succeeded  in  grappling  the  Phoenix,  and  would  soon  have 
set  her  in  flames,  but  in  the  darkness  got  to  leeward,  and  was 
cast  loose  without  effecting  any  damage.  The  other,  in  making 
for  the  Hose,  fell  foul  of  one  of  the  tenders,  grappled  and 
burnt  her.  The  enterprise  was  conducted  with  spirit,  and 
though  it  failed  of  its  main  object,  had  an  important  effect.  The 
commanders  of  the  ships  determined  to  abandon  those  waters, 
where  their  boats  were  fired  upon  by  the  very  yeomanry  when- 
ever they  attempted  to  land ;  and  where  their  ships  were  in 
danger  from  midnight  incendiaries,  while  riding  at  anchor. 
Taking  advantage  of  a  brisk  wind,  and  favoring  tide,  they  made 
all  sail  early  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  August,  and  stood 
down  the  river,  keeping  close  under  the  eastern  shore,  where 
they  supposed  the  guns  from  Mount  Washington  could  not  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  them.  Notwithstanding  this  precaution, 
the  Phoenix  was  thrice  hulled  by  shots  from  the  fort,  and  one 


490  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  the  tenders  once.  The  Hose,  also,  was  hulled  once  by  a 
shot  from  Burdett's  Ferry.  The  men  on  board  were  kept  close, 
to  avoid  being  picked  off  by  a  party  of  riflemen  posted  on  the 
river  bank.  The  ships  fired  grapeshot  as  they  passed,  but  with- 
out effecting  any  injury.  Unfortunatelyj  a  passage  had  been 
left  open  in  the  obstructions  on  which  General  Putnam  had  cal- 
culated so  sanguinely  ;  it  was  to  have  been  closed  in  the  course 
of  a  day  or  two.  Through  this  they  made  their  way,  guided  by 
a  deserter ;  which  alone,  in  Putnam's  opinion,  saved  them  from 
being  checked  in  their  career,  and  utterly  destroyed  by  the  bat- 
teries. 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

THR  BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND. 

The  movements  of  the  British  fleet,  and  of  the  camp  on 
Staten  Island,  gave  signs  of  a  meditated  attack ;  but,  as  the 
nature  of  that  attack  was  uncertain,  Washington  was  obliged  to 
retain  the  greater  part  of  his  troops  in  the  city  for  its  defense, 
holding  them  ready,  however,  to  be  transferred  to  any  point  in 
the  vicinity.  General  Mifflin,  with  about  five  hundred  of  the 
Pennsylvania  troops,  of  Colonels  Shee  and  Magaw's  regiments, 
were  at  King's  Bridge,  ready  to  aid  at  a  moment's  notice. 
"  They  are  the  best  disciplined  of  any  troops  that  I  have  yet 
seen  in  the  army,"  said  General  Heath,  who  had  just  reviewed 
them.  General  George  Clinton  was  at  that  post,  with  about 
fourteen  hundred  of  his  yeomanry  of  the  Hudson.  As  the 
Phoenix  and  Rose  had  explored  the  shores,  and  taken  the 
soundings  as  far  as  they  had  gone  up  the  river,  General  Heath 
thought  Howe  might  attempt  an  attack  somewhere  above  King's 
Bridge,  rather  than  in  the  face  of  the  many  and  strong  works 
erected  in  and  around  the  city.  "  Should  his  inclination  lead 
him  this  way,"  adds  he,  "  nature  has  done  much  for  us,  and  we 
shall,  as  fast  as  possible,  add  the  strength  of  art.  We  are  push- 
ing our  works  with  great  diligence."  * 

Reports  from  different  quarters,  gave  Washington  reason  to 
apprehend  that  the  design  of  the  enemy  might  be  to  land  part 
of  their  force  on  Long  Island,  and  endeavor  to  get  possession 
of  the  heights  of  Brooklyn,  which  overlooked ]!^ew  York  ;  while 
another  part  should  land  above  the  city,  as  General  Heath  sug- 
gested. Thus,  various  disconnected  points  distant  from  each 
*  Heath  to  Washington,  Aug.  17.— 18. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  491 

other,  and  a  great  extent  of  intervening  country,  had  to  be  de- 
fended by  raw  troops,  against  a  superior  force,  well  disciplined, 
and  possessed  of  every  facility  for  operating  by  land  and 
water. 

General  Greene,  with  a  considerable  force,  was  stationed  at 
Brooklyn.  He  had  acquainted  himself  with  all  the  localities  of 
the  island,  from  Hell  Gate  to  the  Narrows,  and  made  his  plan 
of  defense  accordingly.  His  troops  were  diligently  occupied  in 
works  which  he  laid  out,  about  a  mile  beyond  the  village  of 
Brooklyn,  and  facing  the  interior  of  the  island,  whence  a  land 
attack  might  be  attempted. 

Brooklyn  was  immediately  opposite  to  New  York.  The 
Sound,  commonly  called  the  East  River,  in  that  place  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  width,  swept  its  rapid  tides  between 
them.  The  village  stood  on  a  kind  of  peninsula,  formed  by  the 
deep  inlets  of  Wallabout  Bay  on  the  north,  and  Gowanus  Cove 
on  the  south.  A  line  of  intrenchments  and  strong  redoubts 
extended  across  the  neck  of  the  peninsula,  from  the  bay  to  a 
swamp  and  creek  emptying  into  the  cove.  To  protect  the  rear 
of  the  works  from  the  enemy's  ships,  a'  battery  was  erected  at 
Bed  Hook,  the  southwest  corner  of  the  peninsula,  and  a  fort 
on  Governor's  Island,  nearly  opposite. 

About  two  miles  and  a  half  in  front  of  the  line  of  intrench- 
ments and  redoubts,  a  range  of  hills,  densely  wooded,  extended 
from  southwest  to  northeast,  forming  a  natural  barrier  across 
the  island.  It  was  traversed  by  three  roads.  One,  on  the  left 
of  the  works,  stretched  eastwardly  to  Bedford,  and  then  by  a 
passHhrough  the  Bedford  Hills  to  the  village  of  Jamaica ; 
another,  central  and  direct,  led  through  the  woody  heights  to 
Flatbush  ;  a  third,  on  the  right  of  the  lines,  passed  by  Gowanus 
Cove  to  the  Narrows  and  Gravesend  Bay. 

The  occupation  of  this  range  of  hills,  and  the  protection  of 
its  passes,  had  been  designed  by  General  Greene  ;  but  unfort- 
unately, in  the  midst  of  his  arduous  toils,  he  was  taken  down 
by  a  raging  fever,  which  confined  him  to  his  bed  ;  and  General 
Sullivan,  just  returned  from  Lake  Champlain,  had  the  tem- 
porary command. 

Washington  saw  that  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  landing  on 
Long  Island  would  be  impossible,  its  great  extent  affording  so 
many  places  favorable  for  that  purpose,  and  the  American 
works  being  at  the  part  opposite  to  New  York.  "  However," 
writes  he  to  the  President  of  Congress,  "  we  shall  attempt  to 
harass  them  as  much  as  possible,  which  is  all  that  we  can  do." 

On  the  21st  came  a  letter,  written  in  all  haste  by  Brigadier- 
general  William   Livingston,  of  New  Jersey.     Movements  _o.f 


492  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  enemy  on  Staten  Island  had  been  seen  from  his  camp. 
He  had  sent  over  a  spy  at  midnight,  who  brought  back  the 
following  intelligence.  Twenty  thousand  men  had  embarked 
to  make  an  attack  on  Long  Island,  and  up  the  Hudson.  Fifteen 
thousand  remained  on  Staten  Island,  to  attack  Bergen  Point, 
Elizabethtown  Point,  and  Amboy.  The  spy  declared  that  he 
had  heard  orders  read,  and  the  conversation  of  the  generals. 
"  They  appear  very  determined,"  added  he,  "  and  will  put  all 
to  the  sword ! " 

Washington  sent  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  the  New  York  Con- 
vention.  On  the  following  morning  (August  22d)  the  enemy 
appeared  to  be  carrying  their  plans  into  execution.  The  re- 
ports of  cannon  and  musketry  were  heard  from  Long  Island, 
and  columns  of  smoke  were  descried  rising  above  the  groves 
and  orchards  at  a  distance.  The  city,  as  usual,  was  alarmed, 
and  had  reason  to  be  so  ;  for  word  soon  came  that  several  thou- 
sand men,  with  artillery  and  light-horse,  were  landed  at  Grrave- 
send  ;  and  that  Colonel  Hand,  stationed  there  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania rifle  regiment,  had  retreated  to  the  lines,  setting  fire 
to  stacks  of  wheat,  and  other  articles,  to  keep  them  from  falling 
into  the  enemj'^'s  hands. 

Washington  apprehended  an  attempt  of  the  foe  by  a  forced 
march,  to  surprise  the  lines  at  Brooklyn.  He  immediately  sent 
over  a  reinforcement  of  six  battalions.  It  was  all  that  he 
could  spare,  as  with  the  next  tide  the  ships  might  bring  up 
the  residue  of  the  army,  and  attack  the  city.  Five  battalions 
more,  however,  were  ordered  to  be  ready  as  a  reinforcement,  if 
required.  "Be  cool,  but  determined,"  was  the  exhortation 
given  to  the  departing  troops.  "  Do  not  fire  at  a  distance,  but 
wait  the  commands  of  your  officers.  It  is  the  general's  express 
orders,  that  if  any  man  attempt  to  skulk,  lie  down,  or  retreat 
without  orders,  he  be  instantly  shot  down  for  an  example." 

In  justice  to  the  poor  fellows,  most  of  whom  were  going  for 
the  first  time  on  a  service  of  life  and  death,  Washington  ob- 
serves, that  "they  went  off  in  high  spirits,"  and  that  the  whole 
capable  of  duty  evinced  the  same  cheerfulness.''^ 

Nine  thousand  of  the  enemy  had  landed,  with  forty  pieces  of 
cannon.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  the  chief  command,  and  led 
the  first  division.  His  associate  officers  were  the  Earls  of 
Cornwallis  and  Percy,  General  Grant,  and  General  Sir  Wil- 
liam Erskine.  As  their  boats  approached  the  shore.  Colonel 
Hand,  stationed,  as  has  been  said,  in  the  neighborhood  with  his 
rifle  regiment,  retreated  to  the  chain  of  wooded  hills,  and  took 
post  on  a  height  commanding  the  central  road  leading  from 
*  Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOn.  493 

Flatbush.  The  enemy  having  landed  without  opposition,  Lord 
Cornwallis  was  detached  with  the  reserve  to  Flatbu^h,  while 
the  rest  of  the  army  extended  itself  from  the  ferry  at  the  Nar- 
rows through  Utrecht  and  Gravesend  to  the  village  of  Flatland. 

Lord  Cornwallis,  with  two  battalions  of  light-infantry,  Col- 
onel Donop's  corps  of  Hessians,  and  six  field-pieces,  advanced 
rapidly  to  seize  upon  the  central  pass  through  the  hills.  He 
found  Hand  and  his  riflemen  ready  to  make  a  vigorous  defense. 
This  brought  him  to  a  halt,  having  been  ordered  not  to  risk  an 
attack  should  the  pass  be  occupied.  He  took  post  for  the  night, 
therefore,  in  the  village  of  Flatbush. 

It  was  evidently  the  aim  of  the  enemy  to  force  the  lines  at 
Brooklyn,  and  get  possession  of  the  heights.  Should  they 
succeed,  New  York  would  be  at  their  mercy.  The  panic  and 
distress  of  the  inhabitants  went  on  increasing.  Most  of  those 
who  could  afford  it,  had  already  removed  to  the  country.  There 
was  now  a  new  cause  of  terror.  It  was  rumored  that,  should 
the  American  army  retreat  from  the  city,  leave  would  be  given 
for  any  one  to  set  it  on  fire.  The  New  York  Convention  ap- 
prised Washington  of  this  rumor.  "  I  can  assure  you,  gentle- 
men," writes  he  in  reply,  "  that  this  report  is  not  founded  on 
the  least  authority  from  me.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  so  sensi- 
ble of  the  value  of  such  a  city,  and  the  consequences  of  its  de- 
struction to  many  worthy  citizens  and  their  families,  that 
nothing  but  the  last  necessity,  and  that  such  as  would  justify 
me  to  the  whole  world,  would  induce  me  to  give  orders  to  that 
purpose." 

In  this  time  of  general  alarm,  head-quarters  were  besieged  by 
applicants  for  safeguard  from  the  impending  danger ;  and 
Washington  was  even  beset  in  his  walks  by  supplicating  women 
with  their  children.  The  patriot's  heart  throbbed  feelingly 
under  the  soldier's  belt.  Nothing  could  surpass  the  patience 
and  benignant  sympathy  with  which  he  listened  to  them,  and 
endeavored  to  allay  their  fears.  Again  he  urged  the  Conven- 
tion to  carry  out  their  measures  for  the  removal  of  these  de- 
fenseless beings.  "  There  are  many,"  writes  he,  "  who  anxiously 
wish  to  remove,  but  have  not  the  means." 

On  the  24th  he  crossed  over  to  Brooklyn,  to  inspect  the  lines 
and  reconiioiter  the  neighborhood.  In  this  visit  he  felt  sen- 
sibly the  want  of  General  Greene's  presence,  to  explain  his 
plans  and  point  out  the  localities. 

The  American  advanced  posts  were  in  the  wooded  hills. 
Colonel  Hand,  with  his  riflemen,  kept  watch  over  the  central 
road,  and  a  strong  redoubt  had  been  thrown  up  in  front  of  the 
pass^  to  check   any   advance    of  the    enemy   from    Flatbush. 


494  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTOlR, 

Another  road  leading  from  Flatbush  to  Bedford,  by  wliicli  fhe 
enemy  might  get  round  to  the  left  of  the  works  at  Brooklyn, 
was  guarded  by  two  regiments,  one  under  Colonel  Williams, 
posted  on  the  north  side  of  the  ridge,  the  other  by  a  Pennsyl- 
vania rifle  regiment,  under  Colonel  Miles,  posted  on  the  south 
side.  The  enemy  were  stretched  along  the  country  beyond  the 
chain  of  hills. 

As  yet,  nothing  had  taken  place  but  skirmishing  and  irregu- 
lar firing  between  the  outposts.  It  was  with  deep  concern 
Washington  noticed  a  prevalent  disorder  and  confusion  in  the 
camp.  There  was  a  want  of  system  among  the  officers,  and 
cooperation  among  the  troops,  each  corps  seeming  to  act  inde- 
pendently of  the  rest.  Few  of  the  men  had  any  military  ex- 
perience, except,  perchance,  in  bush-fighting  with  the  Indians. 
Unaccustomed  to  discipline  and  the  restraint  of  camps,  they 
sallied  forth  whenever  they  pleased,  singly  or  in  squads, 
prowling  about  and  firing  upon  the  enemy,  like  hunters  after 
game. 

Much  of  this  was  no  doubt  owing  to  the  protracted  illness  of 
General  Greene. 

On  returning  to  the  city,  therefore,  Washington  gave  the 
command  on  Long  Island  to  General  Putnam,  warning  him, 
however,  in  his  letter  of  instructions,  to  summon  the  officers 
together,  and  enjoin  them  to  put  a  stop  to  the  irregularities 
which  he  had  observed  among  the  troops.  Lines  of  defense 
were  to  be  formed  round  the  encampment,  and  works  on  the 
most  advantageous  ground.  Guards  were  to  be  stationed  on 
the  lines,  with  a  brigadier  of  the  day  constantly  at  hand  to  see 
that  orders  were  executed.  Field-officers  were  to  go  the  rounds 
and  report  the  situation  of  the  guards  and  no  one  was  to  pass 
beyond  the  lines  without  a  special  permit  in  writing.  At  the 
same  time,  partisan  and  scouting  parties,  under  proper  officers, 
and  with  regular  license,  might  sally  forth  tw  harass  the  enemy, 
and  prevent  their  carrying  off  the  horses  and  cattle  of  the 
country  people. 

Especial  attention  was  called  to  the  wooded  hills  between 
the  works  and  the  enemy's  camp.  The  passes  through  them 
were  to  be  secured  by  abatis,  and  defended  by  the  best  troops, 
who  should,  at  all  hazards,  prevent  the  approach  of  Jjie  enemy. 
The  militia  being  the  least  tutored  and  experienced,  might  man 
the  interior  works. 

Putnam  crossed  with  alacrity  to  his  post.  "  He  was  made 
happy,"  writes  Colonel  Peed,  "by  obtaining  leave  to  go  over. 
The  brave  old  man  was  quite  miserable  at  being  kept  here." 

In  the  meantime;  the  enemy  were  augmenting  their  forces 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  495 

on  the  island.  Two  brigades  of  Hessians,  under  Lieutenant- 
general  De  Heister,  were  transferred  from  the  camp  on  Staten 
Island  on  the  25th.  This  movement  did  not  escape  tlie  vigilant 
eye  of  Washington.  By  the  aid  of  his  telescope,  he  had  noticed 
that  from  time  to  time  tents  were  struck  on  Staten  Island,  and 
portions  of  the  encampment  broken  up  ;  while  ship  after  ship 
weighed  anchor,  and  dropped  down  to  the  Narrows. 

He  now  concluded  that  the  emeny  were  about  to  make  a 
push  with  their  main  force  for  the  possession  of  Brooklyn 
Heights.  He  accordingly  sent  over  additional  reinforcements, 
and  among  them  Colonel  John  Haslet's  well  equipped  and  well 
disciplined  Delaware  regiment ;  which  was  joined  to  Lord 
Stirling's  brigade,  chiefly  composed  of  Southern  troops,  and 
stationed  outside  of  the  lines.  These  were  troops  which  Wash- 
ington regarded  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  on  account  of  their 
soldier-like  appearance  and  discipline. 

On  the  29th,  he  crossed  over  to  Brooklyn,  accompanied  by 
Keed,  the  adjutant-general.  There  was  much  movement  among 
the  enemj^'s  troops,  and  their  number  was  evidently  augmented. 
In  fact.  General  De  Heister  had  reached  Flatbush  with  his 
Hessians,  and  taken  command  of  the  centre ;  whereupon  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  with  the  right  wing,  drew  off  to  Flatlands,  in 
a  diagonal  line  to  the  right  of  De  Heister,  while  the  left  wdng, 
commanded  by  General  Grant,  extended  to  the  place  of  landing 
on  Gravesend  Bay. 

Washington  remained  all  day,  aiding  General  Putnam  with 
his  counsels,  who,  new  to  the  cominand,  had  not  been  able  to 
make  himself  well  acquainted  with  the  fortified  posts  beyond 
the  lines.  In  the  evening  Washington  returned  to  the  city, 
full  of  anxious  thought.  A  general  attack  was  evidently  at 
hand.  Where  would  it  be  made  ?  How  would  his  inexperi- 
enced troops  stand  the  encounter  ?  What  would  be  the  defense 
of  the  city  if  assailed  by  the  ships  ?  It  was  a  night  of  intense 
solicitude,  and  well  might  it  be  ;  for  during  that  night  a  plan 
was  carried  into  effect,  fraught  with  disaster  to  the  Americans. 

The  plan  to  which  we  allude  was  concerted  by  General 
Howe,  the  commander-in-chief.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  the 
van-guard,  composed  of  the  choicest  troops,  was  by  a  circuitous 
march  in  the  night,  to  throw  himself  into  the  road  leading 
from  Jamaica  to  Bedford,  seize  upon  a  pass  through  the  Bed- 
ford Hills,  within  three  iniles  of  that  village,  and  thus  turn 
the  left  of  the  American  advanced  posts.  It  was  preparatory 
to  this  nocturnal  march,  that  Sir  Henry  during  the  day  had 
fallen  back  with  his  troops  from  Flatbush  to  Flatlands,  and 
caus-ed  that  stir  and  movement  which  had  attracted  the  notice 
of  Washington. 


496  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

To  divert  the  attention  of  the  Americans  from  the  stealthy- 
march  on  their  left,  General  Grant  was  to  menace  their  right 
flank  toward  Gravesend  before  daybreak,  and  General  De 
Heister  to  cannonade  their  centre,  where  Colonel  Hand  was 
stationed.  Neither,  however,  was  to  press  an  attack  until  the 
guns  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  should  give  notice  that  he  had 
effected  his  purpose,  and  turned  the  left  flank  of  the  Ameri- 
cans ;  then  the  latter  were  to  be  assailed  at  all  points  with  the 
utmost  vigor. 

About  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  26th,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  began  his  march  from  Flatlands  with  the  van^guard, 
composed  of  light  infantr3^  Lord  Percy  followed  with  the 
grenadiers,  artillery,  and  light  dragoons,  forming  the  centre. 
Lord  Cornwallis  brought  up  the  rear-guard  with  the  heavy 
ordnance.     General  Howe  accompanied  this  division. 

It  was  a  silent  march,  without  beat  of  drum  or  sound  of 
trumpet,  under  guidance  of  a  Long  Island  tory  along  by-roads 
traversing  a  swamp  by  a  narrow  causeway,  and  so  across  the 
country  to  the  Jamaica  road.  About  two  hours  before  day- 
break, they  arrived  within  half  a  mile  of  the  pass  through  the 
Bedford  Hills,  and  halted  to  prepare  for  an  attack.  At  this 
juncture  they  captured  an  American  patrol,  and  learnt,  to  their 
surprise,  that  the  Bedford  pass  was  unoccupied.  In  fact,  the 
whole  road  beyond  Bedford,  leading  to  Jamaica,  was  left  un- 
guarded, excepting  by  some  light  volunteer  troops.  Colonels 
Williams  and  Miles,  who  were  stationed  to  the  left  of  Colonel 
Hand,  among  the  wooded  hills,  had  been  instructed  to  send 
out  parties  occasionally  to  patrol  the  road,  but  no  troops  had 
been  stationed  at  the  Bedford  pass.  The  road  and  pass  may 
not  have  been  included  in  General  Greene's  plan  of  defense,  or 
may  have  been  thought  too  far  out  of  the  way  to  need  special 
precaution.     The  neglect  of  them,  however,  proved  fatal. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  immediately  detached  a  battalion  of  light- 
infantry  to  secure  the  pass ;  and,  advancing  with  his  corps  at 
the  first  break  of  day,  possessed  himself  of  the  heights.  He 
was  now  within  three  miles  of  Bedford,  and  his  march  had 
been  undiscovered.  Having  passed  the  heights,  therefore,  he 
halted  his  division  for  the  soldiers  to  take  some  refreshment, 
preparatory  to  the  morning's  hostilities. 

There  we  will  leave  them,  while  we  note  how  the  other  divis- 
ions performed  their  part  of  the  plaiil 

About  midnight  General  Grant  moved  from  Gravesend  Bay, 
with  the  left  wing,  composed  of  two  brigades  and  a  regiment  of 
regulars,  a  battalion  of  New  York  loyalists,  and  ten  field-pieces. 
He  proceeded  along  the  road  leading  past  the  Narrows  and 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  497 

G-owanus  Cove,  toward  the  right  of  the  American  works.  A 
picket  guard  of  Pennsylvanian  and  New  York  militia,  under 
Colonel  Atlee,  retired  before  him  fighting  to  a  position  on  the 
skirts  of  the  wooded  hills. 

In  the  meantime,  scouts  had  brought  in  word  to  the  Ameri- 
can lines  that  the  enemy  were  approaching  in  force  upon  the 
right.  General  Putnam  ordered  Lord  Stirling  to  hasten  with 
the  two  regiments  nearest  at  hand,  and  hold  them  in  check* 
These  were  Haslet's  Delaware,  and  Smallwood's  Maryland  regi^ 
ments  ;  the  latter  the  macaronis,  in  scarlet  and  buff,  who  had 
outshone,  in  camp,  their  yeoman  fellow-soldiers  in  homespun. 
They  turned  out  with  great  alacrity,  and  Stirling  pushed  for- 
ward with  them  on  the  road  toward  the  Narrows.  By  the  time 
he  had  passed  Gowanus  Cove,  daylight  began  to  appear.  Here 
on  a  rising  ground,  he  met  Colonel  Atlee  with  his  Pennsylvania 
provincials,  and  learned  that  the  enemy  were  near.  Indeed, 
their  front  began  to  appear  in  the  uncertain  twilight.  Stirling 
ordered  Atlee  to  place  himself  in  ambush  in  an  orchard  on  the 
left  of  the  road,  and  await  their  coming  up,  while  he  formed  the 
Delaware  and  Maryland  regiments  along  a  ridge  from  the  road, 
up  to  a  piece  of  woods  on  the  top  of  the  hill. 

Atlee  gave  the  enemy  two  or  three  volleys  as  they  approached, 
and  then  jetreated  and  formed  in  the  wood  on  Lord  Stirling's 
left.  By  this  time  his  lordship  was  reinforced  by  Kichline's 
riflemen,  part  of  whom  he  placed  along  a  hedge  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill,  and  part  in  front  of  the  wood.  General  Grant  threw 
his  light  troops  in  the  advance,  and  posted  them  in  an  orchard 
and  behind  hedges,  extending  in  front  of  the  Americans,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  distant. 

It  was  now  broad  daylight.  A  rattling  fire  commenced  be- 
tween the  British  light  troops  and  the  American  riflemen, 
which  continued  for  about  two  hours,  when  the  former  retired 
to  their  main  body.  In  the  meantime,  Stirling's  position  had 
been  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Captain  Carpenter  with  two 
field-pieces.  These  were  placed  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  so  as  to 
command  the  road  and  the  approach  for  some  hundred  yards. 
General  Grant,  likewise,  brought  up  his  artillery  within  three 
hundred  yards,  and  formed  his  brigades  on  opposite  hills,  about 
six  hundred  yards  distant.  There  was  occasional  cannonading 
on  both  sides,  but  neither  party  sought  a  general  action. 

Lord  Stirling's  object  was  merely  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check; 
and  the  instructions  of  General  Grant,  as  we  have  shown,  were 
not  to  press  an  attack  until  aware  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was 
on  the  left  flank  of  the  Americans. 

During  this  time,  De  Heister  had  commenced  his  part  of  the 


498  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

plan  by  opening  a  cannonade  from  his  camp  at  Flatbush,  upon 
the  redoubt,  at  the  pass  of  the  wooded  hills,  where  Hand  and 
his  riflemen  were  stationed.  On  hearing  this  General  Sullivan, 
who  was  within  the  lines,  rode  forth  to  Colonel  Hand's  post  to 
reconnoiter.  De  Heister,  however,  according  to  the  plan  of 
operations,  did  not  advance  from  Matbush,  but  kept  up  a  brisk 
fire  from  his  artillery  on  the  redoubt  in  front  of  the  pass,  which 
replied  as  briskly.  Ai?  the  same  time,  a  cannonade  from  a 
British  ship  upon  the  battery  at  Red  Hook,  contributed  to 
distract  the  attention  of  the  Americans. 

In  the  meantime  terror  reigned  in  New  York.  The  volley- 
ing of  musketry  and  the  booming  of  cannon  at  early  dawn,  had 
told  of  the  fighting  that  had  commenced.  As  the  morning  ad- 
vanced, and  platoon  firing  and  the  occasional  discharge  of  a 
field-piece  were  heard  in  different  directions,  the  terror  in- 
creased. Washington  was  still  in  doubt  whether  this  was  but 
a  part  of  a  general  attack,  in  which  the  city  was  to  be  included. 
Five  ships  of  the  line  were  endeavoring  to  beat  up  the  bay. 
Were  they  to  cannonade  the  city,  or  to  land  troops  above  it  ? 
Fortunately,  a  strong  head-wind  baffled  all  their  efforts ;  but 
one  vessel  of  inferior  force  got  up  far  enough  to  open  the  fire 
already  mentioned  upon  the  fort  at  Red  Hook. 

Seeing  no  likelihood  of  an  immediate  attack  upon  the  city, 
Washington  hastened  over  to  Brooklyn  in  his  barge,  and 
galloped  up  to  the  works.  He  arrived  there  in  time  to  witness 
the  catastrophe  for  which  all  the  movements  of  the  enemy  had 
been  concerted. 

The  thundering  of  artillery  in  the  direction  of  Bedford,  had 
given  notice  that  Sir  Henry  had  turned  the  left  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. De  Heister  immediately  ordered  Colonel  Count  Donop 
to  advance  with  his  Hessian  regiment,  and  storm  the  redoubt, 
while  he  followed  with  his  whole  division.  Sullivan  did  not 
remain  to  defend  the  redoubt.  Sir  Henry's  cannon  had  ap- 
prised him  of  the  fatal  truth,  that  his  flank  was  turned,  and  he 
in  danger  of  being  surrounded.  He  ordered  a  retreat  to  the 
lines,  but  it  was  already  too  late.  Scarce  had  he  descended 
from  the  height,  and  emerged  into  the  plain,  when  he  was  met 
by  the  British  light-infantry,  and  dragoons,  and  driven  back 
into  the  woods.  By  this  time  De  Heister  and  his  Hessians 
had  come  up,  and  now  commenced  a  scene  of  confusion,  con- 
sternation, and  slaughter,  in  which  the  troops  under  Williams 
and  Miles  were  involved.  Hemmed  in  and  entrapped  between 
the  British  and  Hessians,  and  driven  from  one  to  the  other,  the 
Americans  fought  for  a  time  bravely,  or  rather  desperately. 
Some  were  cut  down  and  trampled  by  the  cavalry,  others  bayo- 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  499 

neted  without  mercy  by  the  Hessians.  Some  rallied  in  groups, 
and  made  a  brief  stand  with  their  rifles  from  rocks  or  behind 
trees.  The  whole  pass  was  a  scene  of  carnage,  resounding  with 
the  clash  of  arms,  the  tramp  of  horses,  the  volleying  of  fire- 
arms and  the  cries  of  the  combatants,  with  now  and  then  the 
dreary  braying  of  the  trumpet.  We  give  the  words  of  one  who 
mingled  in  the  fight,  and  whom  we  have  heard  speak  with 
horror  of  the  sanguinary  fury  with  which  the  Hessians  plied 
the  bayonet.  At  length  some  of  the  Americans,  by  a  desperate 
effort,  cut  their  way  through  the  host  of  foes,  and  effected  a  re- 
treat to  the  lines,  fighting  as  they  went.  Others  took  refuge 
among  the  woods  and  fastnesses  of  the  hills,  but  a  great  part 
were  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  Among  the  latter  was 
General  Sullivan. 

Washington,  as  we  have  observed,  arrived  in  time  to  witness 
this  catastrophe,  but  was  unable  to  prevent  it.  He  had  heard 
the  din  of  the  battle  in  the  woods,  and  seen  the  smoke  rising 
from  among  the  trees ;  but  a  deep  column  of  the  enemy  was 
descending  from  the  hills  on  the  left ;  his  choicest  troops  were 
all  in  action,  and  he  had  none  but  militia  to  man  the  works. 
His  solicitude  was  now  awakened  for  the  safety  of  Lord  Stir- 
ling and  his  corps,  who  had  been  all  the  morning  exchanging 
cannonades  with  General  Grant.  The  forbearance  of  the  latter 
in  not  advancing,  though  so  superior  in  force,  had  been  misin- 
terpreted by  the  Americans.  According  to  Colonel  Haslet's 
statement,  the  Delawares  and  Marylanders,  drawn  up  on  the 
side  of  the  hill,  "  stood  upwards  of  four  hours,  with  a  firm  and 
determined  countenance,  in  close  array,  their  colors  flying,  the 
enemy's  artillery  playing  on  them  all  the  while,  not  dariyig  to 
advance  and  attack  them,  though  six  times  their  number,  and 
nearly  surrounding  them."  * 

Washington  saw  the  danger  to  which  these  brave  fellows 
were  exposed,  though  they  could  not.  Stationed  on  a  hill  within 
the  lines,  he  commanded,  with  his  telescope,  a  view  of  the  whole 
field,  and  saw  the  enemy's  reserve,  under  Cornwallis,  marching 
down  by  a  cross  road  to  get  in  their  rear,  and  thus  place  them 
between  two  fires.  With  breathless  anxiety  he  watched  the 
result. 

The  sound  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  cannon  apprised  Stirling 
that  the  enemy  was  between  him  and  the  lines.  General  Grant, 
too,  aware  that  the  time  had  come  for  earnest  action,  was  clos- 
ing up,  and  had  already  taken  Colonel  Atlee  prisoner.  His 
lordship  now  thought  to  effect  a  circuitous  retreat  to  the  lines, 
by  crossing  the  creek  which  empties  into  Gowanus  Cove^  near 
*  Atlee  to  Colonel  Rodney,   Sparks,  iv,  516. 


500  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

what  was  called  the  Yellow  Mills.  There  was  a  bridge  and 
mill-dam,  and  the  creek  might  be  forded  at  low  water,  but  no 
time  was  to  be  lost,  for  the  tide  was  rising. 

Leaving  part  of  his  men  to  keep  face  towards  General  Grant, 
Stirling  advanced  with  the  rest  to  pass  the  creek,  but  was 
suddenly  checked  by  the  appearance  of  Cornwallis  and  his 
grenadiers. 

Washington,  and  some  of  his  officers  on  the  hill,  who  watched 
every  movement,  had  supposed  that  Stirling  and  his  troops, 
finding  the  case  desperate,  would  surrender  in  a  body,  without 
firing.  On  the  contrary  his  lordship  boldly  attacked  Cornwal- 
lis with  half  of  Smallwood's  battalion,  while  the  rest  of  his 
troops  retreated  across  the  creek.  Washington  wrung  his 
hands  in  agony  at  the  sight.  "  Good  God  !  "  cried  he,  "  what 
brave  fellows  I  must  this  day  lose  !  ^'  * 

It  was,  indeed,  a  desperate  fight ;  and  now  Smallwood's  mac- 
arotiis  showed  their  game  spirit.  They  were  repeatedly  broken, 
but  as  often  rallied,  and  renewed  the  fight.  "  We  were  on  the 
point  of  driving  Lord  Cornwallis  from  his  station,''  writes  Lord 
Stirling,  "  but  large  reinforcements  arriving,  rendered  it  im- 
possible to  do  more  than  provide  for  safety." 

"  Being  thus  surrounded,  and  no  probability  of  a  reinforce- 
ment," writes  a  Maryland  officer,  "  his  lordship  ordered  me  to 
retreat  with  the  remaining  part  of  our  men,  and  force  our  way 
to  our  camp.  We  soon  fell  in  with  a  party  of  the  enemy,  who 
clubbed  their  firelocks,  and  waved  their  hats  to  us  as  if  they 
meant  to  surrender  as  prisoners ;  but  on  our  advancing  within 
sixty  yards,  they  presented  their  pieces  and  fired,  which  we  re- 
turned with  so  much  warmth  that  they  soon  quitted  their  post, 
and  retired  to  a  large  body  that  was  lying  in  ambuscade."  f 

The  enemy  rallied,  and  returned  to  the  combat  with  addi- 
tional force.  Only  five  companies  of  Smallwood's  battalion 
were  now  in  action.  There  was  a  warm  and  close  engagement 
for  nearly  ten  minutes.  The  struggle  became  desperate  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans.  Broken  and  disordered,  they  rallied  in 
a  piece  of  woods,  and  made  a  second  attack.  They  were  again 
overpowered  with  numbers.  Some  were  surrounded  and  bay- 
oneted in  a  field  of  Indian  corn ;  others  joined  their  comrades 
who  were  retreating  across  a  marsh.  Lord  Stirling  had  en- 
couraged and  animated  his  young  soldiers  by  his  voice  and  ex- 
ample, but  when  all  was  lost,  he  sought  out  General  De  Heister, 
and  surrendered  himself  as  his  prisoner. 

More  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  brave  fellows,  most  of  them 

*  Letter  from  an  American  officer.   Am.  Archives,  5th  Series,  ii.  108. 
+  Letter  from  a  Marylander.     A.m.  Archives,  5th  Series,  i.  1232. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  501 

of  Smallwood's  regiment,  perished  in  this  deadly  struggle,  with- 
in sight  of  the  lines  of  Brooklyn.  That  part  of  the  Delaware 
troops  who  had  first  crossed  the  creek  and  swamp,  made  good 
their  retreat  to  the  lines  with  a  trifling  loss,  and  entered  the 
camp  covered  with  mud  and  drenched  with  water,  but  bringing 
with  them  twenty-three  prisoners,  and  their  standard  tattered 
by  grape-shot. 

The  enemy  now  concentrated  their  forces  within  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  of  the  redoubts.  The  grenadiers  were  within 
musket  shot.  Washington  expected  they  would  storm  the 
works,  and  prepared  for  a  desperate  defense.  The  discharge  of 
a  cannon  and  volleys  of  musketry  from  the  part  of  the  lines 
nearest  to  them,  seemed  to  bring  them  to  a  pause. 

It  was,  in  truth,  the  forbearance  of  the  British  commander 
that  prevented  a  bloody  conflict.  His  troops,  heated  with 
action  and  flushed  with  success,  were  eager  to  storm  the  works ; 
but  he  was  unwilling  to  risk  the  loss  of  life  that  must  attend 
an  assault,  when  the  object  might  be  attained  at  a  cheaper  rate, 
by  regular  approaches.  Checking  the  ardor  of  his  men,  there- 
fore, though  with  some  difficulty,  he  drew  them  off  to  a  hollow 
way,  in  front  of  the  lines,  but  out  of  reach  of  the  musketry,  and 
encamped  there  for  the  night.* 

The  loss  of  the  American  in  this  disastrous  battle  has  been 
variously  stated,  but  is  thought,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prison- 
ers, to  have  been  nearly  two  thousand  ;  a  large  number,  con- 
sidering that  not  above  five  thousand  were  engaged.  The 
enemy  acknowledged  a  loss  of  380  killed  and  wounded.f 

The  success  of  the  enemy  was  attributed,  in  some  measure 
to  the  doubt  in  which  Washington  was  kept  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  intended  attack,  and  at  what  point  it  would  chiefly  be 
made.  This  obliged  him  to  keep  a  great  part  of  his  forces  in 
New  York,  and  to  distribute  those  at  Brooklyn  over  a  wide  ex- 
tent of  country,  and  at  widely  distant  places.  In  fact,  he 
knew  not  the  superior  number  of  the  enemy  encamped  on  Long 
Island,  a  majority  of  them  having  been  furtively  landed  in  the 
night,  some  days  after  "the  debarkation  of  the  first  division. 

Much  of  the  day's  disaster  has  been  attributed,  also,  to  a  con- 
fusion in  the  command,  caused  by  the  illness  of  General 
Greene.  Putnam,  who  had  supplied  his  place  in  the  emergency 
after  the  enemy  had  landed,  had  not  time  to  make  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  post,  and  the  surrounding  country.  Sullivan, 
though  in  his  letters  he  professes  to  have   considered  himself 

*  General  Howe  to  Lord  G.  Germaine.    Bemembrancery  iii.  347. 
t  Howe  states  the  prisoners  at  1094^  and  computes  the  whole  Anjeri- 
cau  loss  9,t  3,300, 


502  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

subordinate  to  General  Putnam  within  the  lines,  seems  still  to 
have  exercised  somewhat  of  an  independent  command,  and  to 
have  acted  at  his  own  discretion :  while  Lord  Stirling  was  said 
to  have  command  of  all  the  troops  outside  of  the  works. 

The  fatal  error,  however,  and  one  probably  arising  from  all 
these  causes,  consisted  in  leaving  the  passes  through  the  wooded 
hills  too  weakly  fortified  and  guarded ;  and  especially  in  neg- 
lecting the  eastern  road,  by  which  Sir  Henry  Clinton  got  in 
the  rear  of  the  advanced  troops,  cut  them  ofi  from  the  lines, 
and  subjected  them  to  a  cross  fire  of  his  own  men  and  De  Heis- 
ter's  Hessians. 

This  able  and  fatal  scheme  of  the  enemy  might  have  been 
thwarted,  had  the  army  been  provided  with  a  few  troops  of 
light  horse  to  serve  as  videttes.  With  these  to  scour  the  roads 
and  bring  intelligence,  the  night  march  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
so  decisive  of  the  fortunes  of  the  day,  could  hardly  have  failed, 
to  be  discovered  and  reported.  The  Connecticut  horsemen, 
therefore,  ridiculed  by  the  Southerners  for  their  homely  equip- 
ments, sneered  at  as  useless,  and  dismissed  for  standing  on 
their  dignity  and  privileges  as  troopers,  might,  if  retained, 
have  saved  the  army  from  being  surprised  and  severed,  its  ad- 
vanced guards  routed  and  those  very  Southern  troops  cut  up 
captured,  and  almost  annihilated. 


[end  of  vol.  I.] 


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